The motivation for this study was the comments by supervisors in the radiography workplace about the students' lack of critical skills when they went for experiential learning. Higher education institutions are required to teach all students the critical crossfield outcomes (CCFOs) so that they can apply them in the world of work. The purpose of the study was to understand the problems in the workplace so that training gaps could be identified. The training gaps were to be used to improve the current curriculum so as to prepare the students more adequately for the workplace. The Durban Institute of Technology (DIT) prepares students to function as radiographers in hospitals and private practices where all the CCFOs are needed. This is done using the Outcomes Based Education (OBE) approach to teaching, where students work collaboratively in groups of various sizes ranging from two to six doing theory and practical activities. The training programme includes experiential learning that is done in accredited hospitals where students work under the supervision of qualified radiographers. The study focussed on the first year student radiographers at DIT who had been placed in the Pietermaritzburg hospitals for their experiential learning. All the supervisors in these hospitals were included in the study as well. Students were interviewed at the end of their first experiential learning block, before they commenced with their second year programme. A qualitative research approach was used to explore the perceptions of the students and supervisors in terms of the development of workplace skills by students. Questionnaires were given to the supervisors and students were interviewed. All questions asked in both the questionnaires and the interviews related to the CCFOs. The findings showed that the perceptions of the students and supervisors were not very different in terms of which skills had been developed and which ones had not. The results also showed that the teaching strategies used at DIT were effective in teaching the CCFOs. A number of issues emerged that affected the way students learnt these skills. These were related to teaching and learning, the institutions and the students themselves. These were found to have both negative and positive effects on the learning of CCFOs. The research also found that neither the DIT nor the hospitals were successful in teaching the art of reflective practice, possibly due to the type of assessment strategies currently used to assess experiential learning. From the findings a number of training gaps were identified and recommendations have been made to address them. The current curriculum should be reviewed and it has been suggested that a shift towards the emancipatory paradigm would be more effective in producing a critical reflective radiographer who possessed all the CCFOs. The first year curriculum should be reduced so that only relevant subjects are taught. The assessment of experiential learning should be restructured to align it with the DIT experiential learning policy and clinical tutors should be trained to work with students in the hospitals. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005

Since it assumed power in 1994, the government of South Africa had to meet the challenges of changing an education system that was established along racial lines. OBE and Curriculum 2005 were adopted into the school system. In the Further Education and Training Band Report 550 which was a 'cleansed' curriculum was introduced. The Framework for the Transformation of Further Education and Training in South Africa was published and promoted equality, economic competitiveness, redress, productivity and quality learning. On 28 October 2002 the draft National Curriculum Statements were published. The purpose of this study was to examine some of the policy intentions, influences and dominant ideologies in the FET policy documents. The study also examines the policy process and the recontextualization of policy discourses. A qualitative approach was used. Data was collected from questionnaires and interviews. The data obtained from the completed questionnaires and interviews was processed. The dominant ideology in the policy documents for English, Life Sciences, Mathematics and Physical Science were identified. The findings of the study shows that policy makers, designers and trainers adopted particular discourses that were at times aligned to the official policy discourse and at times they drew on new discourses based on their own histories, biographies and experiences of teaching in South African schools. Finally recommendations were made concerning the policy process in the form of three propositions: (i)Timing determined what was possible for the NCS: the policy development process was driven by a political need to deliver on a new curriculum; (ii) In a system that is not currently functioning efficiently, new policy initiatives exacerbate rather than reform the conditions on the ground; (iii) Government rationality was driven by a transformative agenda yet constrained by technicist management theories. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

Higher education has been challenged to respond to the inequalities of the past. This required an education system that is more responsive to the needs of underprepared students. The question that arises is whether Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) curricula create opportunities for students to adhere to the demands of the world of work and to assist students to take responsibility for their own learning. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of a responsive curriculum in optimising learning in higher education. An interpretative and descriptive qualitative approach was used in which semi-structured interviews and document analysis served as data collection techniques enabling the researcher to gain more depth in understanding the reality of the responsiveness of curricula used in the Department of Informatics at a Higher Education Institution in Gauteng. The study revealed that there is a dynamic but complex relationship between a responsive curriculum and optimisation of learning. Although the investigated curricula, responds to aspects of the knowledge domain, the findings seemed to indicate that there was not always a clear indication that the curricula fully respond to the needs of the students and industry. The findings further suggest that although content knowledge of the curricula plays a crucial role in the development of students, the needs of industry, society and students should also be met. Although the study’s results cannot be generalised due to the small sample, the researcher is of the opinion that more can be done to improve the state of the current curricula. Inclusive curriculum development training should be provided to all stakeholders (lecturers, students and industry). This descriptive study concludes with the suggestion of using a responsive curriculum model that would enable curriculum developers to design a responsive curriculum allowing students to experience optimal learning in higher education. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)