Study-abroad in the United States traces its roots back to early colonial times. The concept of spending a semester or year abroad during the undergraduate degree programme is not a new one; however increasing emphasis has been placed upon the need for acquiring a global education to cope with the demands of an ever increasing internationalised world. The traditional locations for American undergraduates who chose to study-abroad have always been and continue to be Western Europe. Yet, with a culture similar to that of the United States, the question of what intercultural learning takes place is an apt one. Emphasis on non-traditional locations is increasing, yet few studies have been undertaken which examine the experience of American undergraduates who do choose non-traditional destinations for their study-abroad experience. This research examines, through a qualitative study, using in-depth, semi-structured descriptive interviews, the experience of six American undergraduates who chose to spend a semester in South Africa from January to June 2004. A focus group of professionals within the American university study-abroad setting was also interviewed in May of 2003 to determine factors of interest to professionals within the field. The major findings included: The traditional barriers to study-abroad were not applicable to the students studied, however, barriers dealing with lack of information or inaccurate information regarding South Africa and non-promotion of South Africa as a first world country were found to be relevant as deterrents to students choosing South Africa as a destination for study-abroad. The most relevant factors that influenced students to study-abroad in South Africa were found to be: prior academic coursework in African studies at the home institution, the perception that it was a destination that offered opportunities for personal enjoyment and learning prospects in a unique cultural setting in addition to the fact that the host institution's language of instruction was English. Based on these findings, relevant recommendations for further research in this field were suggested. / Educational Studies / DED (COMP EDUCATION)

Tertiary education campuses are no more the heart of peacefulness and scholastic study. They are turned into battlefields, administration and lecture hall buildings become the objects of siege, invasion and occupation. This is caused by the demands by students for adequate financial aid, the declining financial resources from government and the government's call for more access to tertiary education especially for the historically disadvantaged students. The problems in tertiary education pertain not only to financial problems, they also include cultural diversity, social and political issues. The financial aid to tertiary institutions is the main theme in this research. The research is based on a study of international and South African tertiary education systems in order to find ways to manage student affairs in tertiary education effectively and efficiently and to establish management strategies that will be acceptable to students, management, parents, all stakeholders and interest groups. In the end the management in tertiary education institutions should be able to effect the transformation based on the profound deficiencies of the present system which inhibit Higher Education's ability to meet the moral, social and economic demands of the new South Africa in the context of national and global opportunities and challenges. / Educational Leadership and Management / M.Ed. (Educational Management)

This study set out to investigate how students construct their identities. Throughout their socialisation into academia, students are confronted with the paradox of learning as they negotiate the opposing discourses of enslavement and mastery that construct higher education. Utilising a critical discursive psychology approach this research aimed to examine the implications this paradox holds for the development of students’ identities. In-depth interviews with five master’s degree students allowed for an examination of the linguistic resources available for students to draw on in constructing their accounts of student-hood. Analysis of the interpretive repertoires and ideological dilemmas in the text revealed the uptake of contradictory subject positions in participants’ navigation of academic discourse. In order to address the inconsistencies associated with these conflicting ways of being a student, participants ‘worked’ a face in their interactions with academic discourse. Their face-work served to address the paradox by integrating the contradictory positions evident in their accounts. It is in the agency displayed in the integration of these disparate positions that the emancipating student is revealed. / Psychology / M.A. (Research Consultation)

This is a qualitative interpretive study undertaken through a case study design. The study was carried out to investigate the responsiveness of Social Studies teacher training curriculum towards democratic citizenship education (DCE) with two colleges of education (primary) in Botswana, and the University of Botswana. The following instruments were used as a means to gather data: individual interviews, group interviews, qualitative-questionnaire and document analysis. The participants for the study were drawn from colleges of education Social Studies lecturers and student-teachers with Social Studies as a major subject and the University of Botswana lecturers in the Faculty of Education. The study was inspired by the quest for democratisation of the school system in Botswana through a responsive curriculum. Botswana is dubbed a shining example of democracy, yet active participation of citizens in the national agenda is far to be admired. The best genesis for this enormous task is with teacher training because teachers play a pivotal role in transforming the society through the diffusion of requisite knowledge, skills, behaviours and attitudes. Thus, this argument positions this study to explore the responsiveness of teacher training curriculum at primary teacher training colleges towards DCE. This study was informed by the constructivist perspective on education and teaching. Constructivism is defined by Darforth and Smith (2005) as a broad set of interrelated theories that suggest that knowledge is human creation. This means that, the ideas, attitudes and practices referred to as constructivism are about how humans who learn by building knowledge cooperatively through social interaction and application of prior knowledge in a continual interpretation of ongoing experiences. Moreover, this explains that people explore events and environments, interact among themselves and confront situations and challenge they encounter. The findings of the study show that the teaching of DCE at colleges of education has not been successful as was expected. Firstly, according to the participants, the curriculum does not have adequate content on DCE. Secondly, the values of DCE which are capable of developing student-teachers to be effective citizenship education teachers are not well included in the syllabus. Thirdly, college lecturers believe in active methods of teaching for DCE but perform the opposite in their classes. Lastly, colleges have a lot of challenges that hamper effective transmission of DCE. These range from lack of appropriate educational material for DCE to college leadership that does not recognise the voices of the students in decision making. This study, however, recognises efforts made by colleges to train formidable Social Studies teachers for the transmission of DCE. The study elevates an argument that in-service teachers need support in their effort to transmit DCE to pupils in primary schools. Thus, in the light of the pervasive influence of findings from this study I recommend that policy makers and curriculum planners should consider updating lecturers about the type of Social Studies teacher they are expected to produce. Also I recommend that colleges should review their study materials to align them to the ideals of DCE, with a view to fill the gaps and deficiencies that exist in some topics. Lastly, the study concludes by raising an essential argument that with the current teacher training curriculum and classroom atmosphere in colleges of education, Botswana’s goal of training effective and functional citizenry is an illusion. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum studies)

Basic mathematical competency seems to be lacking for engineering students starting their studies in this field. Students generally find the cognitive transition from secondary to tertiary mathematics challenging which in turn negatively influences their academic achievement in mathematics. The cognitive challenge is the transition from the application of mathematics to familiar questions to applying mathematical principles to varying practical application and problem solving. Mathematics provides the foundation for the cognitive toolset required for the development of skills required for analysing engineering systems and processes. It is therefore important to assess mathematical and cognitive competency and ability at the time of admission to a tertiary institution in order to identify and address gaps. This research demonstrates that first-year engineering students need to have a specific level of mathematical competency and cognitive ability to use mathematics within the context of engineering studies. This research attempts to connect the mathematic competency of first year engineering students to their academic results for subjects in the first year curriculum that rely heavily on mathematical competency. To satisfy the research question, the study firstly looks at relevant literature to identify the mathematical competency levels as well as the operational specification. Secondly, development theories and taxonomies were analysed to gain insight into the development processes associated with learning, cognitive development and the gap between cognitive competencies in transition from secondary to tertiary education. Further, cognitive competencies were identified that are essential for successful completion of first year engineering modules. Through synthesis of the different theories and taxonomies a framework was identified. This framework was used to analyse secondary data in order to measure mathematical and cognitive levels. Thirdly, the theoretical investigation was followed by a three-phase empirical study. A mixed quantative-qualitative (QUAN-qual) approached was followed. Phase 1 uses the assessment framework to measure first year students‟ mathematical competency at the inception of their studies as well as at the completion of their first semester. The mathematical competency at inception was measured with their Grade 12 mathematics marks and with relevant analysis of their initial bridging assessments, on a question by question basis. In addition, their first semester exams questions were analysed using the same approach as above. Phase 2 comprises the measurement of the relationship between the mathematical competency of first year enigineering students at admission and their achievement levels in selected first year subjects that required mathematical competency. Phase 3 includes the guidelines derived from the gaps and shortcomings identified. These gaps were identified in order to inform appropriate study support to first year students and to assists academic personnel with setting appropriate and dependable admission standards. The analysis of mathematical competency creates quality data that gives a clearer picture than a simple comparison of admission scores and first semester marks. The empirical study contributes to a better understanding of the problems associated with the transition from secondary to tertiary learning environments. From the study it was derived that study inception information of the students correlated only with their academic results on questions that tested mathematical and programming application. The inception information was not a predictor of mathematical achievement and results for both the lowest and highest mathematical competency levels. Futher study in this field is required to create frameworks for the measurements of both low and high levels of mathematical competency. / MEd (Mathematics Education), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The primary aim of this study was to explore the relevance that serving and former SAPS members who hold an academic doctorate degree attach to such a degree in the SAPS occupational environment. From a qualitative standpoint, data was collected through phenomenological in-depth individual interviews with serving and former SAPS members who hold an academic doctorate degree. In addition, a comprehensive review of the relevant national and international literature was conducted to obtain a better understanding of this phenomenon. A thematic data analysis process was followed to analyse the collected data. Various objectives were fulfilled in the completion of this study:  The relevance of an academic doctorate degree, as experienced by serving and former SAPS members, in their occupational environment was explored, identified and described.  The value that SAPS doctorate graduates add to the SAPS was explored, identified and described.  Recommendations were made regarding the optimal, efficient and effective utilisation of doctorate SAPS graduates in the occupational environment of the SAPS. The findings of this study indicate that holding a doctorate degree in the SAPS generally adds value to the various aspects of policing. However, it was found that not all doctorate graduates in the SAPS are appropriately placed and placement is not necessarily influenced by graduates’ academic qualifications. Based on the findings of this study, a framework for the appropriate placement of doctorate graduates in the SAPS was developed. This framework could serve as a management tool to sensitise SAPS management to the relevance of an academic doctorate degree. In addition, this framework could act as a management tool guiding the SAPS management regarding the correct placement of academic doctorate graduates in the organisation. This study contributes significantly to the understanding of the relevance of a doctorate degree in the SAPS, thereby contributing to new knowledge related to this phenomenon. / Police Practice / Ph. D. (Police Science)

This is a qualitative interpretive study undertaken through a case study design. The study was carried out to investigate the responsiveness of Social Studies teacher training curriculum towards democratic citizenship education (DCE) with two colleges of education (primary) in Botswana, and the University of Botswana. The following instruments were used as a means to gather data: individual interviews, group interviews, qualitative-questionnaire and document analysis. The participants for the study were drawn from colleges of education Social Studies lecturers and student-teachers with Social Studies as a major subject and the University of Botswana lecturers in the Faculty of Education. The study was inspired by the quest for democratisation of the school system in Botswana through a responsive curriculum. Botswana is dubbed a shining example of democracy, yet active participation of citizens in the national agenda is far to be admired. The best genesis for this enormous task is with teacher training because teachers play a pivotal role in transforming the society through the diffusion of requisite knowledge, skills, behaviours and attitudes. Thus, this argument positions this study to explore the responsiveness of teacher training curriculum at primary teacher training colleges towards DCE. This study was informed by the constructivist perspective on education and teaching. Constructivism is defined by Darforth and Smith (2005) as a broad set of interrelated theories that suggest that knowledge is human creation. This means that, the ideas, attitudes and practices referred to as constructivism are about how humans who learn by building knowledge cooperatively through social interaction and application of prior knowledge in a continual interpretation of ongoing experiences. Moreover, this explains that people explore events and environments, interact among themselves and confront situations and challenge they encounter. The findings of the study show that the teaching of DCE at colleges of education has not been successful as was expected. Firstly, according to the participants, the curriculum does not have adequate content on DCE. Secondly, the values of DCE which are capable of developing student-teachers to be effective citizenship education teachers are not well included in the syllabus. Thirdly, college lecturers believe in active methods of teaching for DCE but perform the opposite in their classes. Lastly, colleges have a lot of challenges that hamper effective transmission of DCE. These range from lack of appropriate educational material for DCE to college leadership that does not recognise the voices of the students in decision making. This study, however, recognises efforts made by colleges to train formidable Social Studies teachers for the transmission of DCE. The study elevates an argument that in-service teachers need support in their effort to transmit DCE to pupils in primary schools. Thus, in the light of the pervasive influence of findings from this study I recommend that policy makers and curriculum planners should consider updating lecturers about the type of Social Studies teacher they are expected to produce. Also I recommend that colleges should review their study materials to align them to the ideals of DCE, with a view to fill the gaps and deficiencies that exist in some topics. Lastly, the study concludes by raising an essential argument that with the current teacher training curriculum and classroom atmosphere in colleges of education, Botswana’s goal of training effective and functional citizenry is an illusion. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum studies)

Questa tesi riflette l’attuale interesse per il dibattito educativo sul ruolo e sull’uso dell’inglese come lingua veicolare in ambiente accademico. I programmi che utilizzano l’inglese come Medium of Instruction (EMI) sono al centro dell’attenzione di questo studio, che si compone di una parte quantitativa e una parte qualitativa. Attraverso un’analisi aggiornata dei dati raccolti da Costa e Coleman nel 2012, la prima parte descrive i risultati di un questionario spedito a tutte le università italiane; la parte qualitativa descrive l’utilizzo dei marcatori metadiscorsivi impiegati da quattro docenti dell’Università Cattolica di Milano. A tale scopo, è stata adottata una versione semplificata del modello di Ädel (2003), proposto da Nobles (2010), e applicato in questa sede al discorso accademico orale. L’aumento del numero di corsi di EMI in Italia registrato da Costa e Coleman nel 2012 è rimasto stabile. Il confronto tra l’uso di marcatori metadiscorsivi personali e impersonali mostra un maggior utilizzo dei primi, in particolare del pronome personale “we”. Infine, lo studio vuole fornire dati e riflessioni a docenti, istituzioni universitarie e legislatori, utili anche alla progettazione di corsi di formazione per insegnanti. / This thesis reflects the shared current interest in the ongoing educational debate on the role and use of English as a medium of instruction in academic settings. English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) programs are the main focus of this study which includes a quantitative and a qualitative part. Through an up-to-date analysis of the data on EMI courses in Italy collected by Costa and Coleman in 2012, the first part shows the results of a questionnaire that was sent to all Italian universities; the qualitative part describes the use of metadiscourse markers by four Italian lecturers at the Università Cattolica of Milan. The simplified and restricted classification model of metadiscourse markers proposed by Nobles (2010), adapted from Ädel (2003), was here applied to the academic spoken discourse. The increase in the number of EMI courses in Italy registered by Costa and Coleman in 2012 has remained stable. The comparison of the use of personal and impersonal metadiscourse shows that personal metadiscourse tokens surpass the impersonal counterpart, with the pronoun “we” as the most frequent self-mention marker in the corpus. Finally, the present study can be of great interest both for lecturers and university policymakers or teacher-training designers.

The overarching aim of this thesis is to explore how teaching and learning in tertiary education is performed in times of change both in language policy and learning approaches. The study takes social constructivist and socio-cultural theories as its major points of departure. These theories are combined with cognitive theory of learning with multimedia. The four studies comprising this thesis are born out of a new situation demanding the mastery of a scientific language in English and new ways of teaching and learning backed with ICT. The studies set out to investigate (i) how students and teachers adapt to a change of medium of instruction (ii) what teachers and students of physics learn when constructing a multimedia vocabulary learning instrument (iii) the impact of two methods of teaching vocabulary on students’ test performance and (iv) how teachers reflect on the use of ICT in Physics teaching. To attain these targets, the study employed a blend of qualitative and quantitative designs to gather relevant data. In three studies, data were gathered from classroom practices in tertiary education. The fourth study included teacher interviews on their experiences with ICT. Findings indicate that the understanding of physics was facilitated by a variation in language use in different classroom spaces, students and teachers’ collaborative selection of technical vocabulary and a multimedia tool of technical vocabulary software constructed by two teachers and the researcher. According to the teachers, the quality of physics teaching would be enhanced further by adopting learner-centred teaching methods and the integration of more advanced ICT. The studies show that teachers and students are on their way to develop ICT tools for teaching and learning. Given adequate support, this can pave the way for transforming teaching and allowing for further quality development in innovative and creative ways of learning with ICT. / Det övergripande syftet med denna avhandling är att undersöka hur undervisning och lärande inom högre utbildning sker i tider av förändring både inom språkpolicy och inom lärande. Studien tar socialkonstruktivistiska och socio-kulturella teorier som utgångspunkt. Dessa teorier har kombinerats med en kognitiv teori om lärande med multimedia. Studien består av fyra studier som behandlar den nya situation som uppstått när studenter och lärare behöver bemästra ett vetenskapligt språk på engelska och nya sätt att undervisa och lära med stöd av IKT. Studiernas syfte är att undersöka (i) hur studenter och lärare anpassar sig till ett förändrat undervisningsspråk (ii) vad lärare och studenter inom fysik lär när de konstruerar ett multimedia instrument (iii) utfallet av två olika metoder att lära studenter ett fackspråk inom fysik som det visar sig i olika test (iv) hur lärare reflekterar över användningen av IKT inom ämnesområdet fysik. För att uppnå dessa mål används en kombination av kvalitativa och kvantitativa metoder. I tre studier samlades data från klassrumspraktiker inom högre utbildning. I den fjärde studien intervjuades lärare om sina erfarenheter med IKT. Resultaten visar att förståelse av fackspråkliga begrepp underlättades av att olika språk användes beroende på avstånd eller närhet till eleverna i klassrummet. Samarbete mellan studenter och lärare i att välja ord och begrepp som skulle användas och mellan lärarna och forskaren i att konstruera ett multimedia-instrument påverkade också lärandet positivt. Enligt de intervjuade lärarna skulle kvaliteten i fysikundervisningen kunna förbättras ytterligare genom att använda elevcentrerade undervisningsmetoder och mer avancerad IKT. Studierna visar att lärare och studenter är på väg att utveckla IKT redskap för undervisning och lärande. Med adekvat stöd kan detta bereda vägen för en transformering av undervisningen och ge utrymme för vidare kvalitetsutveckling genom uppfinningsrika och kreativa sätt att lära med stöd av IKT.

Basic mathematical competency seems to be lacking for engineering students starting their studies in this field. Students generally find the cognitive transition from secondary to tertiary mathematics challenging which in turn negatively influences their academic achievement in mathematics. The cognitive challenge is the transition from the application of mathematics to familiar questions to applying mathematical principles to varying practical application and problem solving. Mathematics provides the foundation for the cognitive toolset required for the development of skills required for analysing engineering systems and processes. It is therefore important to assess mathematical and cognitive competency and ability at the time of admission to a tertiary institution in order to identify and address gaps. This research demonstrates that first-year engineering students need to have a specific level of mathematical competency and cognitive ability to use mathematics within the context of engineering studies. This research attempts to connect the mathematic competency of first year engineering students to their academic results for subjects in the first year curriculum that rely heavily on mathematical competency. To satisfy the research question, the study firstly looks at relevant literature to identify the mathematical competency levels as well as the operational specification. Secondly, development theories and taxonomies were analysed to gain insight into the development processes associated with learning, cognitive development and the gap between cognitive competencies in transition from secondary to tertiary education. Further, cognitive competencies were identified that are essential for successful completion of first year engineering modules. Through synthesis of the different theories and taxonomies a framework was identified. This framework was used to analyse secondary data in order to measure mathematical and cognitive levels. Thirdly, the theoretical investigation was followed by a three-phase empirical study. A mixed quantative-qualitative (QUAN-qual) approached was followed. Phase 1 uses the assessment framework to measure first year students‟ mathematical competency at the inception of their studies as well as at the completion of their first semester. The mathematical competency at inception was measured with their Grade 12 mathematics marks and with relevant analysis of their initial bridging assessments, on a question by question basis. In addition, their first semester exams questions were analysed using the same approach as above. Phase 2 comprises the measurement of the relationship between the mathematical competency of first year enigineering students at admission and their achievement levels in selected first year subjects that required mathematical competency. Phase 3 includes the guidelines derived from the gaps and shortcomings identified. These gaps were identified in order to inform appropriate study support to first year students and to assists academic personnel with setting appropriate and dependable admission standards. The analysis of mathematical competency creates quality data that gives a clearer picture than a simple comparison of admission scores and first semester marks. The empirical study contributes to a better understanding of the problems associated with the transition from secondary to tertiary learning environments. From the study it was derived that study inception information of the students correlated only with their academic results on questions that tested mathematical and programming application. The inception information was not a predictor of mathematical achievement and results for both the lowest and highest mathematical competency levels. Futher study in this field is required to create frameworks for the measurements of both low and high levels of mathematical competency. / MEd (Mathematics Education), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014