published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Education

Thesis (MTech (Faculty of Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2008. / The impact of globalisation on the workplace demands that individuals must be prepared to respond to rapid technological and knowledge changes. While the courses offered by the various Universities of Technology take into account the role of the workplace, very little research exists on the impact of career-focussed programmes and how these meet or do not meet workplace requirements. This thesis discusses a research project conducted with Office Management and Technology students and compares the writing practices of higher education with those of related workplaces. The research problem that is investigated is this thesis is how students transfer knowledge, skills and attitudes learned in higher education to workplaces. In order to address this problem, the research was guided by the questions: 1) what are the business writing practices of 1st and 2nd year Communication students? 2) What are the business writing practices of office managers? 3) What are the ‘gaps’ in the business writing practices between higher education Office Management and Technology programmes and related workplaces? and 4) How can these gaps be addressed to ensure the adequate preparation of Office Management and Technology students for the workplaces of the future? This comparative study used both quantitative and qualitative methods and collected and produced documentary data, questionnaires, observations and interviews at both higher education and workplace sites. The findings show patterns of alignment and non-alignment across the writing practices of higher education and workplaces. Recommendations are made about the alignment of writing practices, for the mutual benefit of students and workplaces. The contribution of this research comprises a theoretical contribution to communication knowledge as well as a number of practical contributions to improve the way in which business writing is taught. A theoretical framework for the analysis and comparison of higher education and workplace communication data has been developed and a comparative study has shown the differences between higher education and workplace communication. Higher education and workplaces are different and their communication practices need to embody these significant differences. This study has shown where there can be constructive alignment between higher education and workplace communication practices to the benefit of both student learning and workplaces. The implementation of the recommendations should result in Office Management and Technology students being better prepared to face the demands and challenges of the different and complex world of the workplace into which they will enter on completion of their studies.

Freshman composition instructors at Christian institutions face a disturbing predicament: competing pedagogies, administrative pressure to prove freshman composition’s merit, public clamoring for greater return on the college investment, technology redefining what “writing” is, a postmodern audience, and most concerning, the challenge to find an instructional model in a sea of pedagogies void of Christian ideology. The field of composition and rhetoric, unlike literature and other disciplines, does not have a pedagogy that successfully reconciles faith and scholarship. The purpose of this Doctor of Education thesis is to ignite a conversation among Christian composition faculty by introducing a prototype Christian freshman composition pedagogy built on a Christian theological, philosophical, and educational foundation rather than maintaining the common practice of overlaying Christian ideas on secular pedagogies. The proposed writing pedagogy is beyond a perfunctory skills and service course because communication through writing is not only divinely modeled, it is essential for human flourishing. The structure of this Trinitarian writing theory is dually aimed at both the writing pedagogue, by providing the resources from which the teacher can develop an instructional pathway, and the student writer, by providing the resources from which the learner develops functional writing strategies encased within a biblically-grounded motivation for writing. Rooted in Kevin Vanhoozer’s Trinitarian Theology of Communication, this Christian writing pedagogical theory unfolds through a series of similarly-shaped triune-based structures that move from theological formation to methodological practice. Chapter 1 argues that composition pedagogy is in crisis, not only at Christian colleges and universities, but secular institutions as well. Providing a context for the aforementioned crisis, chapter 2 historically traces composition instruction trends in America. While Christian scholars have proposed ways to apply faith and learning in other academic fields, no thoroughly Christian writing pedagogy has yet been created. Chapter 3 overviews secular strategies developed in response to the composition instruction crisis and those strategies’ lack of effectiveness. Chapter 4 serves to build the theological and philosophical foundation of a new instructional design theory. Chapters 5-9 provide a detailed progression of the new writing theory from its theological inception to the methodological and practical culmination as an act of worship for the student writer. Craig Bartholomew’s Tree of Knowledge provides the systematic method this project uses to rebuild composition theory; Kevin Vanhoozer's Trinitarian Theology of Communication model is the theological base that provides the key theoretical categories of the new writing pedagogy. Chapters 10-12 examine how the theory’s biblically-based distinctives translate to the classroom.

This study is a deliberation on students who advance from high school to a higher education institution, without demonstrating the attributes required on admission. They are granted formal access, despite being underprepared for tertiary studies. One of the qualities that they noticible lack is academic literacy. In the course of this investigation, academics had to relate what their perceptions were of the academic literacy of their students at higher education level. Initially, being literate meant the ability to read and write, but the term literacy has assumed a more varied form. The term multi-literacies is employed now, as there are several forms of literacy. These include, Information Technology, Technology, pictorial and numerical literacies, to name a few. Academic literacy constitutes more than one literacy, namely, operational or functional literacy, cultural literacy and critical literacy. These literacies are elaborated on and the role of language proficiency, together with the inter-relatedness between students' linguistic competence and their cognitive ability are discussed in depth. Alternatives are examined to assess how this problem of the lack of academic literacy can be circumvented and what mechanisms can be put in place in order that students can be assisted in their pursuit of academic literacy.

This thesis rhetorically analyzes the Outcomes Statement (OS) developed by "The Outcomes Collective" (a group of writing program administrators) for First-Year Composition. The OS was designed to create curricular consensus with regard to First-Year Composition both within and across postsecondary institutions. Though postmodern undertones permeate the OS, it can be interpreted from a purely modernist perspective. The thesis includes a chapter with suggestions on revising the OS to control this ambiguity.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / El objetivo de este trabajo es proponer un esquema alternativo en la enseñanza de redacción comercial en español. Para este propósito, el trabajo se enfoca en los vacíos y limitaciones observados en la mayoría de los textos de redacción comercial en español utilizados en las universidades americanas e hispanas, no sólo desde el punto de vista del conocimiento sino también de su aplicación. Es una propuesta válida para enriquecer la enseñanza de redacción comercial en los estudiantes que desean desarrollar sus habilidades comunicativas a través de la elaboración de documentos comerciales usados por las empresas modernas y globales.

published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics

Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Linguistics)

Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Linguistics)

University teaching staff are employed because of their knowledge in their particular disciplines. Many do not have a qualification to teach at a higher education institution upon commencement of their academic career. In that group there are few who have the research experience required to assist at postgraduate level. This should be developed as one of the three core activities of higher education, in which they have to be involved. This study is the result of a problem that I encountered as a higher education practitioner. In keeping with my being a practitioner researcher within an action research paradigm, this report is written mainly in the first person. The study reports on how my personal theories grew over a period resulting in the need to constantly improve my own practice. These personal theories culminated in the development of an instrument (ADaM), to assess writing. ADaM was used primarily to facilitate reflection in post-graduate writing practice. In this study, there were three sets of workshops comprising 13 practical sessions each, where lecturers engaged with the process of reading, writing, computer-mediation and, to a limited extent, with the concept of mentorship. The purpose was to answer the research question: Can a writing assessment instrument be used to sensitise staff teaching post-graduates to reflect on the complex nature of producing and assessing academic writing? At two points during the 13 practical sessions, data was gathered through semistructured interviews. The data has been analysed using a form of grounded theory referred to as remodeled grounded theory. Since the analysis traversed both the quantitative and qualitative paradigms of research, it was necessary also to place the study within the third paradigm, referred to as mixed methods research. The analysis has been presented via a series of relationships generated first by open coding, then axial coding and concludes with selective coding. In addition, the comments of an independent coder were used to validate the analysis. In accordance with classic grounded theory, it was only after the analysis of the data and the emergence of a substantive theory that I referred to existing theory in the penultimate chapter as validation of my findings. The findings from the study, together with existing literature, allowed me to conclude that “Creating an awareness of writing assessment sensitises academics to their roles as HE practitioners particularly in the areas of writing and mentorship in post-graduate supervision”.