M.A. (Social Work) / Continuing education is an indispensable activity in any profession, including Social Work. The constant increase and renewal of knowledge and the learning and refining of practice skills are necessitated by the rate at which knowledge is generated in the twentieth century as well as rapid societal changes. At the same time the profession faces new demands, particularly those which are relevant to accountability, while social work aspirations towards professional status are sustained.Continuing education has for a very long time been an acknowledged and established component of social workers' activities, yet up till now, very little research has been done on this particular subject. In this study,· the following aspects of continuing education in Social Work are explored: it's principles and aims, the provision of training opportunities by educational institutions in South Africa and social workers' motivation for, participation in, and needs regarding continuing education. In chapter two, continuing education is defined in its relation to recurrent education, formal, non-formal and informal education, adult education and professional training. Attention is also paid to activities that constitute continuing education in Social Work. It is being argued that continuing education is supplementary to preparatory training, that it improves social workers' professional efficiency and that it stimulates the process of professionalization. Furthermore, it is instrumental in the provision of high level manpower for the profession and it contributes towards the maintenance of the corps of social workers by preventing professional burnout...

M.A. / 1. Motivation for the study Training programmes in sexuality education are limited within the social work curriculum of universities, although it seems to be important for the prevention of unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS and also the emotional trauma that goes with early sexual behaviour. The past four years social work students at universities received additional courses in sexuality education. The aim thereof was to equip students with knowledge, attitudes and skills to conduct group counselling with adolescents. 2. Aim of the study The aim of the study is to develop a training programme in sexuality education for social work students through development research. 3. The integrated developmental research model In order to achieve the aim of the study, an integrated development research model was conceptualised. The model mainly consists of Nel and Nel's (1993) model in which four phases feature namely, the analysis, design, development and evaluation phases. Existing knowledge of sexuality education was utilised for the development of this training programme. In the analysis phase it was found that there is no existing training programme for social workers in sexuality education and that there is a need for the development of such a programme. There are however programmes for other disciplines such as nurses, medical doctors and psychologists, but the aim of these programmes is on therapy and not prevention. During the design phase the aims and objectives were formulated for the programme, a practice model was drawn up, a tentative presentation was made of the innovation suggestions and innovation procedures was determined. During the development phase the development plan had been formulated, planned pilot uses and developmental testing took place. The implementation of the pilot application and developmental testing resulted in a number of modifications of the programme. The results of the evaluation phase showed that the training programme succeeded to improve the social work students' knowledge and attitudes of sexuality education. This programme could be used within the curriculum of social work students. 4. Main finding It was found that a training programme in sexuality education could be created which met the initial research aim. Findings of the research showed that this programme made a positive contribution to the knowledge, attitude and skills of the social work students who attended the course.

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

D.Ed. / As a curriculum initiative Technology Education is in its infancy in South Africa. It has only recently, in 1996, been introduced as a compulsory area of learning in the school curriculum. Technology Education with its particular elements of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values is conceptually different from anything previously taught in the school curriculum. The appropriateness of methodology is of fundamental importance to the success of the subject/learning area and probably represents the most significant factor in the effectiveness of its delivery. It is clear that current approaches to learning and instruction are not geared towards the attainment of the desired outcomes in Technology Education. For example, the opportunities for knowledge construction through engagement in the cognitive processes of critical and creative thinking, decision-making problem solving and designing are overshadowed by traditional approaches to curriculum delivery. This is compounded by the fact that no instructional models, which exemplify appropriate instructional practice in Technology Education exist currently in South Africa. The aim of this study was to design and implement an instructional programme in the learning area Technology at a College of Education, and based on the findings, generate a prospective instructional model which would exemplify appropriate instructional practice and at the same time contribute towards the attainment of the desired outcomes in Technology Education. The qualitative research paradigm, using the contextual case study design was considered the most acceptable research strategy for a project of this nature. A group of 20 second year learners was observed around specific tasks comprising the programme. Data was gathered using a variety of methods, viz. direct observation, questionnaires and interviews to gauge firstly, how the learners had experienced the programme, and secondly, how the teacher educator experienced the programme. From the study it appeared that exposure to the instructional programme proved to be an empowering educational experience for both learners and teacher educator alike. In addition to widening the scope and providing opportunities both inside and outside the classroom, the programme appeared to have provided entrepreneurial opportunities for the participants of the programme. Although the instructional programme catered for knowledge construction using a variety of approaches (both behaviourist and constructivist) the most significant gain for learners seemed to have emanated from both group discussion and group work. Although it cannot be stated conclusively that cognitive development had taken place, positive interdependence, shared responsibility, social skills and enhanced learning were evident. The findings of the research provided the foundation for the design and development of an instructional model in Technology Education.

M.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. / The importance of Career Counselling in secondary schools cannot be over-emphasized. In order to achieve the stated objective, our schools will require well trained and well qualified Career Counsellors who will execute this monumental task with great insight, distinction and knowledge. Differentiated education takes into account the fact that people are not the same and therefore their uniqueness will be considered and catered for by exposing them to career counselling. Learners need to be guided in order to make informed choices. This responsibility of guiding and informing learners should be shouldered by educators who are considered to be well-informed and more knowledgeable about the world of work and different courses. There are socio-economic and political changes that are taking place within the borders of our country and globally. Our learners must be multi-skilled or be exposed in order to brace themselves for this eventuality. The traditional way of doing things is rapidly giving way to modern operational techniques. Career Counselling is important in this instance in order to narrow the gap between tradition and the ever-changing world of occupation. For the Career Counselling to be meaningful and helpful to secondary school learners, educators are expected to assist them with the selection o fa major field, self-analysis, methods of career field analysis, establishment of short range career goals, analysis of employment environments, development of long-range career goals and support the learners in the job search campaign (Charles, 1976: 61). In the South African context a distinction is made between Career Counselling outside and within formal education. It seems that Career Counselling, particularly within formal education, experiences many problems, one of which is the inadequate training of Career Counselling educators and the insufficient provision for training such educators...

Thesis (M.M. (Innovation Studies))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2016 / FDI is a buzzword used in the discourses of many emerging market politicians over the last two decades and SA politicians make no exception. It is commonly accepted that many multinationals (MNEs) provide employment opportunities and contribute to the transfer of technological knowledge in support of the host country’s catch up activities. This study aims to provide insight into how the South African subsidiaries of innovative ICT MNEs invest in skills development and why their local leaders chose to act in this way by comparing the case studies of IBM SA, Cisco SA and Dimension Data. It also seeks to find which of these three firms is more efficient at this investment and how South Africa, as a host country, influences their investment activities. The theoretical foundation for this study contains the literature review under the topic framed by the research problem: “How innovative ICT firms based in SA invest in skills.” The researcher gained knowledge about the habit of investment in skills in these branches of MNEs, in particular, their behaviour when they operate within South Africa, and produced a set of propositions that were investigated under the framework of the three case studies using qualitative research methodology. On one hand, the outcome of the study is that these researched branches are not innovating in SA because of the special emerging market context of SA and consequently, at present, they do not invest in R&D and innovation activities. On the other hand, SA government business consultants consider the branches of MNEs as sources of strong innovative and R&D activities that may influence SA innovation successes, different from what these firms do. Moreover, the results of the analysis show that the studied firms intensively exploit their existing products for maximum short-term profit. Policy makers could be assisted by this study in developing adequate policies in support of R&D and innovation activities. The study could also provide guidance for those HQs and leaders of local branches who want to improve their performance in SA and to SA innovators who are seeking to understand the twofold effect of globalisation. / DM2016

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Science, 2002.

Thesis (M.M. (Business Executive Coaching))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, 2017. / Introduction Public hospitals are complex environments in which healthcare leaders are required to lead effectively in order to provide quality service delivery. The issue is: are clinical managers working in Gauteng hospitals competent to lead? This study measures the competency of clinical managers in public hospitals and considers how coaching can be used to close the competency gap in Gauteng public hospitals. Coaching has been identified as one of the appropriate developmental tools to enhance the skills’ gap of top managers in organisations (West & Milan, 2001). In this study, coaching has been considered to be an appropriate learning and developmental tool to enhance skills for these managers. Methods A self-administered questionnaire was used to conduct the survey among clinical managers in the hospitals in Gauteng. Participants were asked to rate the required management competencies and their proficiency levels against nine management competency categories which include: leadership, communication, life-long learning, consumer responsiveness, political and health environment, conceptual skills, results management, resource management, compliance with standards and coaching in improving management competencies .Likert-scale data was used to measure the top managers’ perceptions of the important competencies required for effective service delivery and their level of proficiency with those competencies. Results Findings show that there is significant gap in management competency of clinical managers, which indicates the need for further development of managers. Most clinical managers’ have a perception that coaching has a role in enhancing their competency gap. Literature supports coaching as a leadership development tool for closing the competency gap of clinical managers. Conclusion There is significant gap in the public health sector managers’ competency level. There is a need for appropriate and further training and development to address the skills gap. There is need to strengthen management capacity to support the strategy of improved and sustainable healthcare service delivery. Coaching is the appropriate leadership developmental and supportive tool to enhance the skills needed by clinic managers. / MT2017

The main aim of this study is to review critically the changing nature, role and status of the history of education as a field of study in teacher education courses in South Africa, Britain and the USA. While the British and American situations have had direct influence on the theory and practice of the history of education in English language universities in South Africa, this influence has been shaped and modified by local circumstances, significantly so since the education crisis of 1976. The study seeks to clarify several fundamental questions about the history of education, including its relationship with other fields of educational study and its place in the intellectual preparation of teachers. Such questions are examined in the general contexts of the British, American and South African historiographies of education as well as in the context of the teacher education curriculum as it is shaped by the acid-political context. In the three countries being studied, teacher education has become a matter of urgent concern. One result has been a rethinking of the place of educational theory, which inevitably involves a reconsideration of the place of history of education.