The aim of this study was to investigate how the National Certificate Vocational (NCV) curriculum is being managed at Majuba TVET College in ensuring that it impacts positively in addressing skills shortage in the Newcastle area. The following was the main question for the study: How is Majuba TVET College managing the National Certificate Vocational (NCV) curriculum in addressing skills shortage in the Newcastle area? A comprehensive literature review was conducted to provide strong arguments as presented by different authors who wrote on the topic after conducting research about Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges A qualitative method was chosen by the researcher to gather data on the management of the NCV curriculum in addressing skills shortage. The main aim was to discuss the methods the researcher used in the study to collect data meant to acquire the impact of the NCV curriculum management in addressing skills shortage. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews, non-participant observation and literature review. It was then put together and analysed according to themes aligned to the main study problem and the sub problems in order to realise the main aim of the study and the sub-aims. On the basis of the findings and the recommendations, the researcher proposed the importance of the college to review the NCV curriculum so that it is aligned with practical exposure enhanced by NCV students from the industry. In conclusion, the findings pointed out that NCV students’ practical exposure may have a big impact in addressing skills shortage and combating the high unemployment rate in the Newcastle area. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

This exploration investigates lecturers’ experiences of the role of professional development on TVET lecturers. Lecturers’ professional development is often viewed as the source to effective learning developments. Lecturer effectiveness at TVET Colleges depends on the constant professional development to avoid encounters that they face due to endless differences taking place in technology and national curriculum. The result of proper professional development of lecturers is that both students and the organisation benefit from it. Hence, lecturers are likely to be subjected to continuous professional development to be well informed with the constant adjustments taking place in the education system. This occurs as the lecturers are pressurised to participate in a variety of regular professional development programmes that are not designed to suit their specific requirements. This leads to, professional development becoming ineffective in assisting the lecturer developing their training in their specific areas of knowledge. A literature review was used to determine what other writers say about the concept of professional development. A qualitative study was employed and two research instruments were used: semi-structured interview sessions and document analysis.Information was collected through the interviews, centred on pre-planned interview questions. Purposive sampling was used and nine experienced participants were selected for this study. Lecturers’ were questioned about their experiences of professional development at a TVET College in the Kwazulu Natal district. The conversations were recorded, translated and scrutinised to discover lecturers’ opinions about professional development in their college. This investigation was guided by three important questions: How effective are staff development programmes managed for lecturers in their areas of specialisation? Secondly, How effective are the policies regarding staff development in TVET Colleges? Finally, what role does senior management play in CPD in Majuba TVET College? Findings indicate that the principals of the colleges are not managing the continuous professional development of lectures. It is left upon the lecturers themselves to manage their professional development. It is expected that this investigation and the literature review will influence the management of professional development for the advantage of lecturers and the college. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

The study explored women’s underrepresentation in engineering at a Technical Vocational and Education and Training (TVET) College in Gauteng, South Africa. Research on the lack of women in engineering exists, however, the underrepresentation of women students in engineering at TVET Colleges is under-researched. Using a theoretical starting point Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy, a qualitative study explored views of selected female students on female underrepresentation in engineering at TVET Colleges, with reference to South West Gauteng College. Interviews with women in Engineering, Business Studies and Hospitality courses were undertaken. Findings indicated: engineering students' desire for equal career opportunities in engineering; recognition of the impact of gender stereotypes and differing ways of developing self-efficacy and capabilities as women to follow an engineering career; the barrier of gender stereotypes on secondary school girls’ choice of and achievement in Mathematics and Science and the information gap concerning career options in engineering; as well as benefits provided by TVET Colleges offering these courses. Some recommendations which are suggested are: TVET Colleges should ensure that more information about the engineering courses offered at these institutions be relayed to the public in a manner that is inclusive to everyone irrespective of gender. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Adult Education)

This study was interested in investigating the factors contributing to low completion rates at a TVET college in the North-West Province. There is not much research conducted on the low completion rates at TVET Colleges in South Africa. The study sought to explore the understanding of completion rates at TVET Colleges, the current completion rates and the causes and the strategies that might be employed to increase the completion rates. Qualitative methodology was used to collect data, using semi-structured interviews for all the focus group interviews. Collected data were transcribed, interpreted, analysed and the findings were presented. The study revealed that factors contributing to the low completion rates are finance and management issues, staff problems, policy factors, socio-economic factors and students’ personal factors that require attention in order to increase the completion rates. These include lecturer qualifications, student funding, inadequate infrastructure, drug and substance abuse, involvement of stakeholders and lack of adherence to policies. The study recommends proper administration of students’ bursaries, effective Quality Management System (QMS), lecturer development, adequate infrastructure and efficient policies to be implemented. The study might draw the attention of the DHET, the college management and other stakeholders in order to come up with interventions to remedy the low completion rates at TVET Colleges. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Educational Management)

The technical and vocational education and training, (TVET) sector has shown a rapid growth since 1998 in South Africa. This sector aimed to provide education and training to empower the youth of South Africa. Policies were established and put in place to manage students’ attendance, however, absenteeism seemed to be on the rise. This study aimed to explore factors influencing students’ absenteeism and recommend strategies to address the factors influencing students’ absenteeism at a TVET College in Nelson Mandela Bay District. In an attempt to address the aim of this study, a qualitative research approach was employed and a case study method was used. Data were collected by means of focus group interviews, semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings of this study revealed that student absenteeism was caused by students’ factors, college-related factors and socio-economic factors. This study revealed that National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) was the major contributing factor in students’ absenteeism due to delayed payments. With respect to the negative impacts of students’ absenteeism, the findings of the study further revealed that lecturers are experiencing hardships in completing the syllabi on schedule time. The result revealed that student attendance policy was ineffective to manage student attendance. This study recommended that the TVET college should exercise discipline to students and establish a disciplinary committee. This will ensure that the students adhere to the attendance policy and improve students’ attendance. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Education Management)

The TVET colleges in South Africa contribute to the social and economic development of the country. It is for this reason that TVET colleges are expected to provide quality teaching and learning, but this core business of the colleges has been hampered by a lack of professional development or irrelevant professional development of lecturers. The study aims to investigate the relevance of professional development offered at a selected TVET college in the Free-State province and the improvement thereof. The study employed a qualitative research design involving 22 participants. The participants comprised of two executive managers, two campus managers, four heads of department, six senior lecturers and eight lecturers. The participants were purposively selected using purposive sampling. Face-to-face semistructured interviews were conducted to collect data from managers and two focus group interviews were employed to collect data from lecturers. The findings of the study revealed that there is a need for relevant professional development of lecturers at the selected TVET college. The most important recommendation with the potential to change the situation at the studied college is that the planning, organising, leading and control of professional development need to be done more professionally. If managers utilise management functions (planning, organising, leading and control) properly to manage lecturer’s professional development, lecturers will be in a better position to provide quality teaching. Other relevant recommendations are also provided. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Education Management)

A large number of students are struggling with Information System and other computer related subjects. This has a negative impact on students’ academic performance at large. In fact, a number of students from various institutions of higher learning are facing serious Information System challenges. Information System student on NATED curriculum at Majuba TVET College are facing serious challenges on their studies. This has been indicated by their performance on Information System. This article intends to draw an attention of education stakeholders, College management and lecturers to this matter. A number of reasons leading to students poor performance in this field has been mentioned. Various studies have been conducted but yet the lack of Information System skills still persists. The main question that guided this study was: What are the stakeholders’ perceptions of the challenges encountered Information System students? In order to explore and to get some findings for this case qualitative study, semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders were conducted. Sample of lecturers, student’s focus groups and college management members was conducted. Data collected from various participants were transcribed verbatim. A combination of literature and data collected produced some findings on the matter. In an attempt to answer the main question, recommendations were made. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Students in Technical and Vocational Education and Training Colleges (TVET) in South Africa face a number of challenges including psychological problems. These challenges have a strong bearing on the academic success of the students. The aim of the study was to examine the effectiveness of psychological support services rendered to students at Majuba TVET College. Interviews were recorded verbatim and transcribed. Thematic data analysis was used to analyse the data. The themes used were derived from the research objectives and these were further divided into categories and sub-categories. The study found that the institution does provide psychological support services to the learner. The forms of psychological support include career counselling, pre-counselling, referral system, on-going counselling and peer counselling and mentoring. Improved academic performance, improved student attendance student retention and improved college certification rate are some of the benefits that can be realised from the effective utilisation of psychological support by the students. Various challenges hinder the effective utilisation of these psychological support services including, lack of qualified personnel, being understaffed, poor referral system, conflicting roles of staff, inadequate on-site counselling, low-prioritisation of psychological support by college management and limited access time. The participants highlighted the need for the institution to establish linkages with key stakeholders such as other TVET Colleges so as to have a platform for sharing vital information on psychological support. The participants were of the view that more qualified and registered staff should be hired to bolster the provision of psychological support to students. The referral system should be improved and the participants advocated for the services to be accessible around the clock. College management should show commitment to students’ welfare by prioritising and recognising student psychological support as pivotal to students’ academic success. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Adult Education)

Student non-attendance is a main challenge in TVET Colleges, especially in teaching and learning and the academic functioning of students. Various studies on student absenteeism and absenteeism in schools were reviewed in the literature. However, not much has been written about the challenges in TVET colleges. The focus of this research is on the three TVET College campuses in the Bojanala District in the North West Province. The qualitative method was used. Semi-structured interviews and non-participative observation were employed to gather information and the views of the participants about student absenteeism. The researcher selected the participants purposefully, as they have experienced the problem of absenteeism. Students and lecturers were selected as participants in the study. Lecturers acknowledged that the poor background of students was a contributing factor to poor attendance. The study concludes with recommendations on how to reduce the challenge of student non-attendance. The lack of transport money is a socioeconomic factor that contributes to student absenteeism in TVET colleges. It is recommended that NSFAS pays the transport money directly to the service provider. When students apply for a NSFAS bursary, they should provide proof of the transport that they use to help the bursary office in terms of transport arrangements. It is further recommended that all campuses should have student accommodation, and that bursary money should be paid directly to the accommodation services. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Education Management)

The aim of this study was to investigate the management of the function shift of Technical and Vocational Education and Training Colleges at the Department of Higher Education and Training. When the function shift of TVET Colleges took place, it provided an opportunity to research a phenomenon and obtain data that were not previously researched, as this was the first ever function shift or migration of colleges from the Department of Basic Education to the Department of Higher Education and Training. As such, this research not only explores a new phenomenon but also contributes to the body of knowledge regarding TVET in South Africa. This research was conducted at a TVET College in Newcastle, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. A qualitative, phenomenological study was conducted. The instruments for collecting data were individual and focus group interviews. Field notes were compiled during the various interviews, as deemed necessary by the researcher. All interviews were recorded digitally. The said digital recordings were transcribed and emanating themes were identified. Managers were selected as the interviewees. As this research was based on the management of the function shift, they were the most appropriate choice. A sample of staff was also interviewed, as two separate focus groups, to balance the scope and extent of the data, thus attempting to not only view the managerial paradigm as the sole reality. Findings made from the data were that the function shift was preceded by a previous migration of staff. That migration, however, saw colleges remaining in the same educational stream or level namely that of basic education. The staff at colleges, or technical colleges as they were called at the time, were previously employed by the State. This changed when the State created governing bodies for colleges or college councils, as they are known. Technical Colleges were then renamed Further Education and Training Colleges. These colleges were reporting to the Department of Education which saw a name change to the Department of Basic Education, as explained above. Employees were given the opportunity to migrate from State employment to council employment, which most staff members did. These college councils were later found to be dysfunctional, and the State arranged for colleges to be returned to the auspices of the State, but this time round they were usurped in the newly formed Department of Higher Education and Training. From a management perspective, the function shift was successful with minor challenges. Thus the staff felt that they did not receive adequate communication, thereby adversely affecting their financial positions. The researcher recommends further research among TVET Colleges regarding the management of this function shift. It is also recommended that all current channels of communication with staff be revisited, and improvement therein pursued, where possible. A final recommendation is that managers involved in a function shift be subject to a refresher course in change management before a function shift is implemented. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)