M. Tech. Business Administration / The study was conducted at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Business School in order to assess the degree of interest in the blended method of teaching and learning among Business School students. The study was based on a sample of size 50 students who were enrolled as Year III students while the study was being conducted at the Business School. Data was collected by using a structured, pre-tested and validated questionnaire of study from each of the 50 students who took part in the study. Data analyses were performed by using methods such as frequency tables, Fisher’s exact tests of associations and Marcov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms or Bayesian analysis.

The context of this study is the introduction of a new national quality assurance system for South African higher education by an agency of the Department of Education. The purpose of the study is to conduct a critical policy analysis of the Council of Higher Education’s Higher Education Quality Committee’s policy formulation process. In doing so, the study seeks to understand how the quality of teaching and learning practice might be enhanced through quality assurance. In order to answer this question the study examines the literature on quality assurance in higher education and proposes a simple conceptual framework for mapping different approaches to quality assurance. The framework is based on a normative judgment that communicative action is more likely to result in the improvement of teaching and learning practice than instrumental action. Approaches to policy analysis and evaluation research are explored and it is argued that policymaking is a complex multi-faceted process requiring a pluralist research design. This is attempted in the study where a range of research methods are employed from within a critical social science paradigm. The study analyses data gathered at each of the policy stages: setting the policy agenda, policy formulation, policy adoption and policy reformulation, but stops short of researching policy implementation in any depth. The study is therefore classified as a formative, clarificatory evaluation. It seeks to evaluate the conceptualization and design of instruments for quality assurance, stakeholder contribution to policy development and stakeholder response to policy proposals. In particular the study seeks to uncover the different values, discourses and ideologies that stakeholders subscribe to in the policymaking process. The findings of the study show that the HEQC did attempt to work communicatively and consultatively with the higher education community and that it was, in part, due to its consultative efforts, that the final policy instruments were greatly improved. But the study also shows that the consultative process was only partially successful, with serious differences still existing between the HEQC and some stakeholder groups. Different stakeholder approaches to quality assurance are traced to deeper historical, cultural and ideological differences. The study suggests that these factors are likely to hinder the smooth implementation of the HEQC’s policies. The findings of the study also suggest that the challenge of designing a model of quality assurance that caters adequately for both the improvement and accountability purposes of quality assurance was not entirely met in this policymaking process. Furthermore, the study suggests that because the HEQC’s policies were, from the outset, conceived of as a means of furthering the state’s transformation agenda, its idea of quality and its quality assurance procedures are beginning to work ideologically. This has the effect of politicizing the implementation process and undermining the HEQC’s efforts to improve the quality of teaching and learning practice in South African higher education.

This study investigates human resources management, training and development and their compliance with the skills development legislation and the link to the strategic goals of the Cape Technikon. The Cape Technikon is known as a previously &ldquo / white&rdquo / or advantaged institution. The institution's political history and consequent demographic profile display some scars of ignorance. This resulted in the institution's neglecting to invest in the development of those competencies needed to function in a constantly changing education, training and development environment. The success of any organisation depends on its human resources, who are the most important asset of any organisation, therefore effective and efficient human resources management and training and development management play a critical role in the well-being of employees. Human resources training and development policies, practices and activities guide the institution with implementation and should be considered to take on a strategic role to achieve their objectives.

D.Ed. (Education) / In this research the core syllabuses, departmental syllabuses and the matriculation examination papers were evaluated. For the purpose of evaluation certain criteria were developed based on inherent curriculum design principles, including a situation-analysis. Cognizance was taken of the data obtained in an earlier investigation by the Human Sciences Research Council on the needs.and demands of the work situation. Criteria were developed in the areas of Education, Linguistics and Language Didactics. Linguistic criteria are based on a Pragmatic language perspective, including a Pragmatic component as part of language structure. In order to obtain a clearer criterial focus, the different structure oriented, content based and educational criteria were integrated in a criterial structure. In the application of the criterial structure to the abovementioned curriculum documents, it was found that the language syllabuses do not adequately equip the learner to become adult educated users of the language. The learner is being inadequately equipped for the demands of the various social contexts in which he or she is required to use the language. The essential nature of language according to the dynamic interaction between language use and structure within a given context is negated. A theoretical basis is lacking resulting in the negation of the essentially communicative nature of language and the role of context in the functional use of language. Guidelines, based on the stated criteria, have been put forward with a view to accountable curriculum and syllabus innovation.

A research report submitted to the Faculty Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Art (Industrial Sociology), September 2017 / In this report I look at women's representation in #FeesMustFall, which is a student led protest movement that began in mid-October 2015 in response to an increase in fees. The core question posed in this project is how has the print media have been reported in a selection of newspapers pertaining to the women of #FMF 2015, honing in on 77 articles written about #FMF, and arguing that issue of women in #FMF 2015 are underrepresented in these media outlets. [No abstract provide. Information taken from introduction] / XL2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Education (Educational Psychology). / Although various policies have been implemented to lessen the impact of Apartheid on all levels of education since 1994, sub-Saharan Africa still has the lowest level of higher education enrolment in the world (Bloom, Canning & Chan, 2006). This study therefore aimed to identify which factors contributed to students' university enrolment in South Africa and how these factors affected their academic success at university. A self-developed questionnaire assessing factors influencing enrolment for three key areas (personal, parental and schooling) was administered to 337 psychology one students registered at the University of the Witwatersrand and academic success was estimated using their psychology one mark for the first semester. Data was analysed using frequency counts, Spearman's correlations and two independent sample t-tests. Results showed that intrinsic and extrinsic motives had the greatest influence on individuals' decision to attend university, with those students intrinsically motivated performing better on average than those motivated by any other factor. In addition, socio-economic status played a role in success at university, possibly because it affects the quantity and quality of resources available to an individual. As a result, those students' with a higher socio-economic status tended to do better than those of lower socio-economic status. Further analysis indicated that fluency in English also had an effect on student's overall success. / AC2017

This qualitative study focused on understanding risk influences for sexual violence against female students at the University of KwaZulu Natal, Westville Campus (formerly the University of Durban- Westville) in South Africa with the aim of suggesting intervention strategies for prevention. The participants of the study were male and female students at the University. One hour same gender focus group interviews were facilitated by trained Psychology Masters students of the institution in the afternoons after lectures. Interviews for the male groups were facilitated by males and female groups by females. Participants' responses were captured by tape recorders and then transcribed. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. The factors that influence sexual violence on campus are discussed within the framework of the Theory of Triadic Influence (TTI).The emergent data of the current study suggested multiple influences for sexual violence within the three streams of influences of the TTI, namely, the intrapersonal, social context and cultural environmental streams of influence. It emerged that sexual violence was a problem on campus and most incidences were not reported to the University authorities. Participants in the current study also revealed a broader understanding of sexual violence than the current definition of rape. The majority of incidences of rape were reported to occur within the first few weeks of the academic year at parties meant to welcome new students. At intrapersonal level first year students' inability to adjust to University life, lack of assertiveness, misinterpretation of a woman's friendly behaviour by male as well as alcohol and drug abuse emerged as factors influencing sexual violence against women at the intrapersonallevel. At the social context level, peer influence among male and female students was found to be another contributing factor for sexual violence against women on campus. Depending on the group norms, male students would be pressured into being violent towards their partners. Female students were found to be pressurized into remaining in an abusive relationship. At the cultural! environmental level, participants revealed beliefs of men's superiority over women and these were reported to be brought about by socialization in society. Based on this study recommendations are made for possible interventions to prevent incidences of sexual violence against women in tertiary educational institutions in South Africa. These include orientation programmes for first year students that will assist them adjust to University lifestyle. Life skills education should be aimed at changing men's negative attitudes and aggressive behaviours as these have detrimental effects towards partners. Social events aimed at entertaining students should be closely monitored in order to eliminate every kind of unacceptable behaviour. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

Education in South Africa, in the times of the national government, had been regulated and controlled. During the 1990's, however, with the emergence of the new democratic government, the degree of control and regulation eased to allow a spirit of free enterprise. This provided entrepreneurial opportunities to engage in the provisioning of education. These opportunities proved very successful resulting in good business options. This development was not matched with any regulation or standards, consequently no mechanisms were in place that provided guidelines on personal and academic quality. In most cases private providers were not of an academic background and therefore based their practice strictly along business lines. Private providers sought accreditation from international partners. This had reciprocal benefit in that it added a sense of legitimacy and credibility to the private provider while at the same time providing financial benefit to international universities. Over time, as a result of lack of research and development in this sector it was assumed that the private sector was responsible for the loss of student numbers in the public sector. This together with the findings of the task group delegated by the Minister of Education highlighted the urgent need to regulate this sector. This resulted in a sequence of events that gave rise to the regulation policy. The policy required that private providers report on their quality assurance mechanisms. The process was two pronged namely, the application for accreditation and the application for registration. The Department, as a result of lack of capacity, had engaged SAQA (South African Qualifications Authorities) to implement the accreditation process. This was an interim process till such time the Higher Education Quality Council is fully set up. The process proved complex, the document to apply for accreditation, termed the "blue book" was not a user friendly document. This coupled with the lack of academic experience in quality assurance on the part of private providers, resulted in severe implementation problems. This study addresses the implementation process by the Department of Education. It looks at the responsibility and participation of all stakeholders in the process and attempts to identify what factors had contributed to the poor implementation. The study probes the responses from private providers in Kwa-Zulu Natal and from the regulatory authorities. The study is grounded in the literature survey. One must be mindful that this regulation process is a new development. The work of the HEQC and the Council on Higher Education is new. Currently there are web sites that outline clearly their aims, objectives, process and procedures. However, at the time of the first implementation in 1998, little information was available. The documentation was developed after the process had been implemented. This coupled with understaffing from SAQA and the DoE exacerbated the problem. This study therefore explores the implementation process. This process is now improved and changed now the Council on Higher Education has implemented the quality assurance mechanisms. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2002.

The political, social and economic history of the Further Education and Training College Sector and that of the communities it serves influences the operation of these institutions. The history of „state aided‟ and the „state‟ technical colleges has resulted in some Rectors and some Campus Managers having different ideas regarding leadership and management. Campus managers who bring with them the style of a state technical college‟s past tends to follow a very rigid and autocratic management, while those who come from the state aided technical college‟s past tends to emphasize teamwork, delegation but autocracy as well. Getting these campus managers to devolve power to other lecturers in the FET College is somewhat a challenging task. With this in mind, the purpose of this dissertation is to determine the enactment of „lecturer leadership‟ by the classroom lecturers at one FET College, and to investigate what hinders lecturers‟ enactment of leadership in this context. Where leadership is enacted, I intend establishing factors that promote the successful enactment. From a theoretical perspective, distributed leadership theory underpins this study. As I have had little choice but to use the literature on teacher leadership within a schooling context, because there is no literature around the concept of lecturer leadership in the context of the FET College both locally and internationally that I came across. I have taken the liberty of adopting a term „lecturer leadership‟ which is most suited for the FET context. My study is situated within an interpretive paradigm because I worked from the premise that there are multiple truths and I wanted to understand the different interpretations of the world through the lecturer leaders‟ lenses. I aligned myself with Cohen, Manion and Morrison who write “the central endeavour in the context of the interpretive paradigm is to understand the subjective world of human experiences” (2007, p.21). Using a descriptive case study methodology allowed me to track the three lecturer leaders for six month period in the FET College where I worked to get a nuanced description of how lecturer leadership was enacted. The lecturers‟ responses were collected both as numerical data, through survey questionnaires, and textual data, through a focus group and individual interviews, journaling process, and observations. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

The relationship between language proficiency and academic success in university studies is of major concern in educational institutions throughout the Western world. The particular focus of this study is the situation in the Republic of South Africa. This problem is of critical importance at this stage in the history of South Africa when universities have publicly stated their commitment to admit any students with merit or potential to succeed at university. In order for students to succeed at university they need to be communicatively competent in the language which is the medium of instruction. It has been assumed that this ability can be assessed by means of a formal test and it is this issue on which this dissertation focuses in order to establish how reliable such tests are as predictors of academic performance. The empirical research covers a six-year period from 1982 to 1987 and investigates two tests. One is a particular language test which was designed specifically for the selection of students for courses of academic study of English at university. The other is the senior certificate examination which provides the statutory admission requirement for university entrance in South Africa. An extensive review of relevant studies both within South Africa and overseas has been undertaken. In addition an unstructured questionnaire was sent to English departments throughout South Africa in order to establish the current practice with regard to the selection of students for first-year courses. The conclusion seems to be that in the context of a homogeneous population language proficiency as measured on a formal test is predictive of academic success in first-year courses in English. In heterogeneous student populations, like that of South Africa where the majority of prospective students may be described as being "disadvantaged", however, this is not the case. Academic success cannot be predicted with any degree of confidence on the basis of language proficiency. Extreme caution is necessary in the implementation of any language test for the selection of students for academic study at university in the present changing nature of university student populations in South Africa. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1988.