In this study, the integration of technology in education and the application of action learning as a teaching strategy, are investigated through a literature study and with empirical research. The purpose is to develop a teaching model wherein technology can be effectively incorporated for the offering of the subject Information Systems (IS). The study also focuses on the nature and scope of the subject Information Systems, as well as the status concerning the subject Information Systems at Technikons in South Africa. Knowledge regarding technology quickly becomes obsolete and therefore IS-learners should have the means and skills to keep abreast of advances in technology. IS-learners not only need subject oriented knowledge, but also personal skills that are known as critical cross field outcomes in the new educational paradigm. The establishment of the National Qualification framework, led to an academic initiative that is based on transparent national standards and clear descriptions of learning outcomes. For higher education institutions in South Africa the implication was that all curricula of subjects, including Information Systems, had to be rewritten in terms of outcomes. Specialisation is essential for the Information System qualification, as it became apparent that information system applications and demands from industry are becoming specialised. In 1999 the IS-qualification was adjusted to provide for specialisation areas at Technikons in South Africa. Action learning integrates the theories and characteristics of several disciplines, amongst others, education, psychology, systems thinking, political science, ethics, anthropology and sociology. During the process of action learning, knowledge must be constructed by asking questions, processing information and applying the newly acquired knowledge. Links must be established between new knowledge and pre-knowledge. Action learning attempts to integrate the elements of knowledge, insight and practice, and states that there can be no learning without action and that no purposeful action can take place without learning, while the solving of a problem influences both the problem and the person that acts on the problem. Action learning satisfies all the requirements needed to address the knowledge, values, skills and behaviour that IS-learners should adhere to. Action learning stimulates the development of cognitive skills that are essential for the training ofiS-learners. The different types of information systems that are found in organisations are not isolated systems, but rather integrated systems that collaborate in order to support a business function. IS-learners should not only understand the development, but also the integration and implementation of these systems. From this it becomes apparent that action learning is a suitable teaching strategy for IS-learners. The classification of educational technology as well as a framework for the implementation thereof, is discussed in the study. According to the literature study and from results obtained from the empirical research, a teaching model is proposed that consists of the following three components: • Determinants that influence the teaching and learning scenario. These determinants include the National Qualification framework industry; technology infrastructure; institutional policy and outcomes based education. • The didactic triangle, in which the distinct roles of the learners (that can act as facilitators during action learning) and educators are discussed, as well as the outcomes for the subject Information Systems. • Action learning and the utilisation of technology as the teaching strategy within the proposed model. The proposed action learning and technology teaching model promotes a learner-centred approach and focuses on learning outcomes, rather than learning contents. The proposed model empowers learners as well as educators and makes provision for the use of technology within the financial constraints of institutions. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003

In this study, the integration of technology in education and the application of action learning as a teaching strategy, are investigated through a literature study and with empirical research. The purpose is to develop a teaching model wherein technology can be effectively incorporated for the offering of the subject Information Systems (IS). The study also focuses on the nature and scope of the subject Information Systems, as well as the status concerning the subject Information Systems at Technikons in South Africa. Knowledge regarding technology quickly becomes obsolete and therefore IS-learners should have the means and skills to keep abreast of advances in technology. IS-learners not only need subject oriented knowledge, but also personal skills that are known as critical cross field outcomes in the new educational paradigm. The establishment of the National Qualification framework, led to an academic initiative that is based on transparent national standards and clear descriptions of learning outcomes. For higher education institutions in South Africa the implication was that all curricula of subjects, including Information Systems, had to be rewritten in terms of outcomes. Specialisation is essential for the Information System qualification, as it became apparent that information system applications and demands from industry are becoming specialised. In 1999 the IS-qualification was adjusted to provide for specialisation areas at Technikons in South Africa. Action learning integrates the theories and characteristics of several disciplines, amongst others, education, psychology, systems thinking, political science, ethics, anthropology and sociology. During the process of action learning, knowledge must be constructed by asking questions, processing information and applying the newly acquired knowledge. Links must be established between new knowledge and pre-knowledge. Action learning attempts to integrate the elements of knowledge, insight and practice, and states that there can be no learning without action and that no purposeful action can take place without learning, while the solving of a problem influences both the problem and the person that acts on the problem. Action learning satisfies all the requirements needed to address the knowledge, values, skills and behaviour that IS-learners should adhere to. Action learning stimulates the development of cognitive skills that are essential for the training ofiS-learners. The different types of information systems that are found in organisations are not isolated systems, but rather integrated systems that collaborate in order to support a business function. IS-learners should not only understand the development, but also the integration and implementation of these systems. From this it becomes apparent that action learning is a suitable teaching strategy for IS-learners. The classification of educational technology as well as a framework for the implementation thereof, is discussed in the study. According to the literature study and from results obtained from the empirical research, a teaching model is proposed that consists of the following three components: • Determinants that influence the teaching and learning scenario. These determinants include the National Qualification framework industry; technology infrastructure; institutional policy and outcomes based education. • The didactic triangle, in which the distinct roles of the learners (that can act as facilitators during action learning) and educators are discussed, as well as the outcomes for the subject Information Systems. • Action learning and the utilisation of technology as the teaching strategy within the proposed model. The proposed action learning and technology teaching model promotes a learner-centred approach and focuses on learning outcomes, rather than learning contents. The proposed model empowers learners as well as educators and makes provision for the use of technology within the financial constraints of institutions. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003

Contemporary organisations face a raft of challenges in coping with competing demands and rapidly changing environments. With these demands and changes comes the need for those within the organisation to be adequately skilled to meet these challenges both now and into the future. There is a growing concern that the rate of change is such that learning will not be sufficient and that individuals will need to be skilled in unlearning or letting go of past practice and behaviour. This research investigated individual unlearning as it applies in the workplace, and enabled the development of a process model of unlearning that provides specific indication of factors affecting unlearning during times of change. In particular, this thesis highlights the critical importance of elements of a more personal and affective nature; often referred to as "soft" issues. Six key factors at the level of the individual were identified as impacting unlearning; positive prior outlook, individual inertia, feelings and expectations, positive experience and informal support, understanding the need for change, and assessment of the new way. Two factors emerged from the organisational level that also impact unlearning; organisational support and training and history of organisational change. Many change efforts will fail because of lack of attention to individuals, how they unlearn and the level of feelings and expectations that accompany change. This research demonstrates that organisations must provide resources and education to provide both those in supervisory roles and those impacted by change with the necessary skills to unlearn and to embrace change at an individual level.

Malcolm Shepherd Knowles was a key writer and theorist in the field of adult education in the United States. He died in 1997 and left a large legacy of books and journal articles. This thesis traced the development of his thinking over the 46-year period from 1950 to 1995. It examined the 25 works authored, co-authored, edited, reissued and revised by him during that period. The writings were scrutinised using a literature research methodology to expose the theoretical content, and a history of thought lens to identify and account for the development of major ideas. The methodology enabled a gradual unfolding of the history. A broadly-consistent and sequential pattern of thought focusing on the notion of andragogy emerged. The study revealed that after the initial phases of exploratory thinking, Knowles developed a practical-theoretical framework he believed could function as a comprehensive theory of adult learning. As his thinking progressed, his theory developed into a unified framework for human resource development and, later, into a model for the development of self-directed lifelong learners. The study traced the development of Knowles’ thinking through the phases of thought, identified the writings that belonged within each phase and produced a series of diagrammatic representations showing the evolution of his conceptual framework. The production of a history of the development of Knowles’ thought is the major outcome of the study. In addition to plotting the narrative sequence of thought-events, the history helps to explicate the factors and conditions that influenced Knowles’ thinking and to show the interrelationships between ideas. The study should help practitioners in their use and appreciation of Knowles’ works.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2008. / Title from title page screen (viewed on Sept. 17, 2009). Thesis advisor: George M. Hopper. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The aim of this study is to explore the adult immigrant students’ experience of maths in Sweden. I will present an understanding rather than an explanation on how second language adult students learn maths. It can be argued that people who study maths as adults in a new homeland and in a foreign language face particular challenges. At the same time research reports that people sometimes approach the subject in a more fruitful way as adults compared to their childhood experiences. I want to contribute to the general knowledge of the subject and furthermore provide improved understanding of how mathematics teachers can guide their students towards their goals.I have performed semi-structured qualitative research interviews. My informants are my own maths students on the basic level with incomplete grades in maths from secondary school, or they have failed in their maths studies in upper secondary school due to a low level of know-ledge. They are over 20 years of age and they are all immigrants and have arrived in Sweden as adults. I have used my students statements, written as narratives as the material which is to be interpreted and understood. Because of my use of my own students in the interview, I will not take into account their statements about the teacher’s role in my conclusion.I find that:1. The difficult experience of being forced to leave the home country, together with a wish to take revenge on the failures from their youth, can lead to a kind of struggle for decom-pensation that can be reflected in the participants' positive evaluation of their maths studies.2. Having a family is a great motivational help for studying regardless of the time it takes to take care of the same.3. The memories of previous failures with the incomprehensible, abstract mathematics characterise the students’ inception of the subject.4. It seems possible that adult students can understand themselves in a new way and redefine their relationship with maths and their own ability to study the subject.

To enter higher education means making new experiences and develop newunderstanding within a knowledge field. The situation could also entail, for thestudent, an entirely different self-understanding. This licentiate thesis deals withthis kind of learning process.The overall aim of this licentiate thesis is to analyze what an art teachers education,founded on contemporary conceptual art, can offer in terms of transformativelearning. The point of departure is adults learning processes as renegotiations ofprevious interpretations which can be transformed to new understanding. The studyanalyzes what aspects of transformative learning are reflected in students' texts andimages, produced as part of the studied course. The licentiate thesis also discussespossibilities and constraints of this learning process. The study was conducted as acase study based on a hermeneutic approach. Material was collected from thecourse blog which consisted of students' texts and images.The study results show a transformative learning process which students experiencedas emotionally tumultuous because their self-image, as future art teachers, isrenegotiated. The situation contains a dimension of learning which I call "twistingand turning" in which new understanding is being formed. This situation requires aself-reflexive creative approach. The result generates questions about therelationship between the content of the education (what) and the learner (who) in anart teachers education founded on a non-traditional base. This applies above all ineducations that challenge students' prior understanding of a field. One could alsoask how adult learning is staged as relearning in higher education. The studydevelops a concept of reflexive creativity which contains a more abstract level thanjust problem solving. The idea of reflexive turn in art education, based onconceptually contemporary art, is also discussed.

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Den 1 juli 2010 avskaffades värnplikten i förmån för ett yrkesförsvar, varpå premisserna för utbildningen av soldater förändrades. Idag har män och kvinnor från 18 år möjlighet att genomföra s.k. Grundläggande Militär Utbildning (GMU) under tre månader på frivillig basis. De nya premisserna kan m.h.t. frivilligheten ställas i paritet med civil vuxenutbildning, där båda upplever exempelvis avhopp till följd av motivationsbrist. Syftet med studien är delvis att identifiera officerarnas upplevda utmaningar på GMU avseende rekryternas tidigare erfarenheter, motivation samt lärarrollen. Därtill syftar studien till att undersöka om de är desamma för civil vuxenutbildning. Intervjuer av åtta officerare har genomförts för att identifiera de utmaningar som föreligger på GMU, samt en komparativ analys mellan dessa utmaningar och bland annat Knowles andragogikteori, som i den här studien representerar utmaningarna för den civila vuxenutbildningen. Resultatet visar att det föreligger utmaningar på GMU som är desamma för civil vuxenutbildning, särskilt tydligt vad gäller elevens/rekrytens motivation, men å andra sidan visar resultatet på att det föreligger utmaningar på GMU som inte förekommer i samma omfattning som i vuxenutbildning, och vice versa. / In July 2010 Sweden abolished conscription in favor of an all-volunteer military force, whereupon the prerequisites for the recruitment and training of soldiers changed. Today, men and women from the age of 18 can sign up for a so-called Basic Military Training (GMU) for three months on a voluntary basis. The new prerequisites can, with regard to voluntariness, be on par with civilian adult education, both of which are, e.g., experiencing drop-outs as a result of lack of motivation. The purpose of the study is partly to identify the officers’ perceived challenges at GMU regarding recruits earlier experience, motivation and the teacher’s role. In addition, the study aims to examine whether these challenges are the same as for the civilian adult education. Interviews of eight officers have been conducted to distinguish the challenges that exist at GMU, as well as a comparative analysis between these challenges and theory of adult learning, including Knowles’s andragogy model, which in this study represents challenges for the civilian adult education. The result shows that there are challenges at GMU that are the same as for the civilian adult education, particularly evident in terms of the motivation of the pupil/recruit, but on the other hand, the result shows that there are challenges at GMU that do not occur in the same extent as in adult education, and vice versa.

There is a lack of empirical research on the motivational regulation and reactions of higher education students enrolled in blended courses. Studies that target this focus with nontraditional adult learners enrolled in the community college are even more difficult to locate. In this mixed-methods exploratory case study, I explored in what ways nontraditional adult learners' motivational regulation and their motivational reactions to course design relate to their perceived learning experience in a blended technology course with a flipped design. Specifically, I investigated how nontraditional community college students described their goals for participating in a blended course prior to the start of the class, in what ways they utilized motivational regulation strategies within the course, how they described their motivational reactions to a blended course developed with a flipped design, and how they perceived their goal accomplishments at the end of the course. The following A Priori questions guided my research: 1. In what ways do five nontraditional community college students describe their goals for participating in a blended technology course with a flipped design prior to the start of the class? 2. How do these students describe their motivational regulation experiences in the blended technology course on their responses to the Motivational Regulation Strategies Questionnaire? 3. How do these students perceive the motivational aspects of the course design as measured by the Course Interest Survey? 4. In what ways do these students perceive they achieved their described goals at the end of the course? I collected quantitative and qualitative data in the Fall semester of 2017 from five purposefully selected nontraditional adult community college learners who voluntarily engaged in the inquiry. I used several data collection instruments throughout the study. I collected quantitative data via three questionnaires: (1) a Demographics, Goals, and Interest Survey (2) the Motivational Regulation Strategies questionnaire, and (3) the Course Interest Survey. I gathered qualitative data through (1) participant electronic journals, (2) semi-structured interviews and (3) a researcher's reflective journal. There are both practical and theoretical implications to this study. The results of this research suggest guidelines on how to design an effective blended course for nontraditional students enrolled in the community college arena. The information gleaned might be used to further develop and redesign future blended courses for nontraditional community college students who seek alternative modes of content delivery for the purposes of continued learning and convenience of integration into their busy lifestyles. The findings from this study contribute to at least two bodies of empirical research literature: (1) motivational regulation strategies employed by nontraditional community college students and the (2) development of blended courses with motivational design to help nontraditional community college adult learners obtain their learning goals.