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My original contribution to knowledge is the use of computer generated, three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds using Second Life® as a three-way sustained engagement and a mechanism for a genuinely productive dialogue between Further Education (FE) colleges, employers, employees and apprentices. This thesis shows how the use of virtual worlds creates meaningful employer engagement where Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are involved in planning and contributing to learning (Healey et al, 2014). A radical rethink is taking place about the way we should learn. That is that most learning is informal, at work, under the guidance of non-educationalists and that this situation is universal in the government's priority area of apprenticeship (HM Treasury, 2015) and among most private providers. I will discuss how virtual environments allow SMEs to work in ways they cannot in real life and juxtapose this against the real world, in order to reveal the previously misunderstood connections between the two. The question of Further Education (FE) reform has been widely debated (Bailey et al, 2015, Kelly, 2015) with former Skills Minister, Nick Boles, questioning whether the general FE college model has a future (Evans, 2015) and The Centre for Vocational Education Research (2015) reporting “FE needs to be rethought and rebuilt”. The gap in research for UK vocational education is significant, in comparison to school or university education (Coffield 2008, Grollmann, 2008) and detrimental to the UK government’s drive to recruiting 3 million apprentices by 2020 (Gov.UK, 2015a). This thesis addresses the use of virtual worlds to enhance work transitions both educationally and work related with special attention to apprentices. Specifically, I will be looking at research that pays attention to the socio-cultural context of situated learning (Lave and Wenger, 1991, Vygotsky, 1978), in order to show communities of practice in virtual worlds, transferring motivation and knowledge management. I argue working in virtual worlds bridges the gap between education and industry to develop a modern workforce for the continuation of learning across formal and informal settings (Vavoula et al, 2007) and how its use is endless and hugely enriching by allowing learning to be much more opportunistic. There are so many opportunities in the use of virtual worlds, related particularly to a three-way partnership in learning between apprentices and employees, employers and FE colleges: co-ordination of off- and on-the-job learning; real-time oversight for employers of their employees’ progress; use of virtual events at work to enrich learning, demonstrations of processes and development of learning communities.

The statutory education sector and health and social sectors are obliged to provide Welsh language services, either by teaching through Welsh-medium or Welsh as a second language or by providing an ‘Active Offer’ of Welsh language services. This thesis identifies that bilingual capacity in the workforce is vital to fulfilling these policies and that training the current workforce to increase their fluency and confidence to use Welsh is necessary to increase capacity. This thesis used questionnaire data obtained from participants on the sylfaen | foundation course of the Welsh National Sabbatical Scheme to investigate the course as a language capacity building and strengthening model, both to determine its effectiveness and best practices in increasing fluency and confidence to use Welsh by its participating English-medium primary school teachers; and its generalisability and applicability to the health and social sectors. A Sabbatical Scheme Model was proposed to senior officials in the social and health sectors in the Cardiff region and semi-structured interviews were undertaken of current Welsh language training and the perception of Welsh in the sectors. Based on these interviews, new questions were raised in terms of how the sectors are focusing on increasing fluency and confidence in using the Welsh language in work, with focus turning to either language capacity strengthening or language capacity building as opposed to a combination of the two. As a result, this thesis sets out conclusions regarding language capacity building versus language capacity strengthening, and how both are necessary in creating a strong bilingual workforce that can both actively offer and deliver Welsh language services.

This diploma thesis is focused on influence of regions on attitudes towards continuing education. The aim of this diploma thesis is to identify influence of Prague and Ostrava region to attitudes towards continuing education. The theoretical part describes the terms of continuing education and attitudes. Within those concepts is pursued influence of attitudes towards behavior with special focus on elements with power to influence attitudes towards continuing education. Different methods to measure attitudes are presented. More attention is given to the RAACES scale (Revised Adult Attitude Toward Continuing Education Scale) that is used in empirical part of the thesis. The thesis also summarizes essential cultural, social and economic characteristic of selected regions, Prague and Ostrava region, including their definition. The empirical part of the text is dedicated to the analysis of questionnaire. It measures attitudes towards continuing education of retail managers from Prague region and from Ostrava region towards continuing education with the RAACES scale. The interest of the research was to describe influence of regions on attitudes towards continuing education and to describe structure of attitudes towards continuing education of Retail Managers. Key words: attitudes toward education,...

For physically challenged students, inequalities in further education begin with inequalities that have shaped the whole schooling system in South Africa. The limited provision that exists for physically challenged students at further education and training colleges in KwaZulu-Natal Province, especially black physically challenged students, means that for these students there is a very high level of exclusion from the education system. Many students with physical challenges still need an ally even in their basic accommodation. The focus of this research was on exploring challenges experienced by physically challenged students at “Mango” (pseudonym) Further Education and Training College in KwaZulu-Natal Province. That investigation was conducted in terms of the availability of resources for physically challenged students at Further Education and Training Colleges, the use of learner support services, accessibility of buildings for these students and the roles played by parents of physically challenged students at Further Education and Training Colleges in KwaZulu-Natal Province. This study was therefore designed to explore not only the challenges experienced by physically challenged students at Mango FET College in KwaZulu-Natal Province, but also their experiences and responses to such challenges. This research study was conducted with students who were physically challenged and their lecturers from Mango FET College in KwaZulu-Natal Province. The sample of the population included six participants who were physically challenged students and four participants who were lecturers teaching physically challenged students at Mango FET College. Furthermore, participants comprised both females and males who were doing different levels at the college, i.e. NQF level two, NQF level three and NQF level four students. The research study sought to explore the challenges experienced by such physically challenged students at Mango FET College in KwaZulu-Natal Province in order for the college to meet these students’ academic needs. Observations and semi-structured interviews were the main data-collection tools used in the study. Results from the current research study indicated that inaccessibility of buildings, lack of resources for physically challenged students, inadequate support from student support services and the college represented major barriers to the success of the physically challenged students at Mango FET College in KwaZulu-Natal Province. Moreover, although student support services are available, the entire college population, students and staff alike, should all be responsible for creating an inclusive environment where students with physical challenges can experience a sense of community and attitudes of embracing diversity and accommodating differences. The responsibility thus lies with all relevant role players of Mango FET College in KwaZulu-Natal Province who must work together to overcome social and academic barriers; to accommodate physically challenged students properly, provide them with accessible buildings, encourage parents to assist physically challenged students, endeavour to meet their academic, social and emotional needs and assist them to develop academically. In future, progress can be made through the increased coordination of student support services, building accessible buildings with ramps for physically challenged students, and providing adequate resources for these students. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Since the advent of democracy in 1994 South Africa has been faced with the shortage of skilled people and this is caused, amongst other things, by the inadequacy of the outdated National Education Programmes for Technical Colleges (NATED) and later referred to as the N-programmes. To address the problem, the former Department of Education (DoE) developed new programmes called the National Certificate Vocational NC (V) for the students of the Further Education and Training colleges (FETs), which were renamed the Technical Vocational Educational and Training Colleges (TVET). The TVET programmes were implemented with the collaboration of industry and other stakeholders who were involved when the NC (V) programmes were developed to ensure their buy-in. Despite all these efforts, Magnus et al. (2013) are of the view that the vocationally-oriented NC (V) programmes offered at colleges are not useful, work-focused and flexible, as a result some leading employers reject the products of the programmes. Returning to the global debate, Lewis (2009) contends that failure of vocational programmes anywhere ought not to be taken as an indictment of vocationalism. Based on the above scenario, this study surveyed and traced TVET graduates who graduated from 2009 to 2012, to determine the impact of the NC (V) programme on those who decided to either further their studies or be employed. Although the programmes offered by the FET’s are rolled out in various study fields throughout the country, the research was limited to graduates who were enrolled in the following three programmes in the North West Province: building construction, electrical, and engineering related studies. The three mega FET Colleges, composed of more than ten campuses as listed in point 1.2.1, are spread throughout the province, which is regarded to be predominantly rural even though it boasts the biggest hub of mines, especially platinum mines. There is also high concentration of tourism industry as well as agricultural businesses that require a skilled labour force to drive economic activities. An extensive literature review was conducted to appropriately inform the study and to provide a firm basis for the arguments. The NC (V) programmes by their nature and design are closely related to the work of the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) with respect to the apprenticeships and the learnerships. Factors relating to the research scope, context and the geographical environment were analysed to ensure proper delineation and delimitation of the study since it covered only the North West Province of South Africa. The study used both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies for the collection of data. An interview schedule was used for the collection of the qualitative data from the Colleges, Department of Higher Education and Training, the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), the Universities of Technologies (UoTs), and the various employer organizations. The questionnaire was applied to collect quantitative data from the graduates because of their large numbers. The use of both methods, the qualitative and quantitative, enhanced the quality of the verification and the validation of the data. The correlational relationship and connection between the NC (V) graduates and their post college destinations was determined. This refers to the correlation between NC (V) graduates and the opportunities seized after their college studies. Charles (1998:11) attests that “although in most cases data for correlation studies are obtained through measurement, at times they come from judgments made by researchers, teachers, or other qualified persons”. In line with this, the researcher presented the findings from the qualitative method in a manner that outlines the opinions and the post college status of the graduates. The findings of the qualitative method provided background knowledge into the NC (V) programmes, the graduates and their destinations, thereby validating the quantitative findings. A work integrated learning framework model is proposed for the enhancement of the FET College curriculum, for the improvement of quality work-placement and for the promotion of partnership amongst the beneficiaries; graduates, employers, colleges and the intermediaries. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

People-against-the-law is a societal phenomenon that will never disappear, even in societies where law and order are effectively enforced and practised. Political, economic and social conditions contribute to reasons why some people end up in correctional facilities. This study investigated the perceptions of offenders enrolled in education and training programmes offered by three correctional centres in Pretoria. The study adopted a pragmatic qualitative methodology in which the perceptions of the offenders in the educational programmes, and officials were investigated on whether the programmes addressed their personal development and that of their communities. Interviews and observations were used to collect data during tuition activities. Sixty-five (65) males, females, youth offenders, ex-convicts and officials from Correctional Services and non-governmental organisations participated in the study. Bronfenbrenner’s systems and Knowles’ andragogy were used as the theoretical base to understand the dynamics of adult learning in challenging prison environments. The study concluded that educational programmes offered by the Department of Correctional Services must be needs-based and align to employment opportunities, self-esteem and proper rehabilitation of individual offenders. Adult education programmes grounded on andragogic principles and practices should be revisited in correctional centres’ contexts. Thus educational programmes within Correctional Services should not only be mandatory, but teaching and learning activities should be conducted by qualified adult educators, and address the social needs of the adult offenders. / Educational Foundations / D. Ed. (Socio Education)

This thesis investigates the learning experiences of students who participated in short-term study abroad trips (also known as regional academic travel) offered by New York University Abu Dhabi’s Office of Global Education, with the objective of attaining an authentic account of these experiences. This authentic account supports a better understanding of a student’s experience, and leads to a more in-depth understanding of learning, which for this research is called the learning lifeworld. Phenomenography is used to capture the qualitative variation of individual experiences leading to four categories of description placed in logical relationship to one another yielding an outcome space of four conceptions of learning experience. Phenomenography alone, while reflective in nature, has limitations on determining an authentic account of experience. Therefore, it is helpful to draw upon reflective thinking ability, which produces information on each student’s ability to reason through an ill-structured problem, and puts students in a reflective thinking development stage, which is linked to a student’s critical reflection ability. Reflective judgment stages for each student were determined using the standard reflective judgment interview (King & Kitchener, 1994), and then compared against the instances conceptions of learning experience that appeared in each student account. A relationship was identified between instances of conceptions and the level of a student’s reflective thinking ability that could lead to a deeper understanding of the learning lifeworld through the language students used in responses from the phenomenographic interview and the reflective judgment interview. The findings of this research show that there were at least four qualitatively different ways students experienced regional academic travel trips. The categories developed through an analysis of student reflective accounts are: the regional academic travel experience complements and supplements classroom learning; develops academic skills; affects students’ future academic, personal, and professional endeavours; and offers students a chance to reflect on impacts they have made and can make in a community and the world. The results of this research make an original contribution to lifeworld theory, transformative learning, and short-term study abroad research by utilizing a unique combination of research approaches (phenomenography and reflective judgment to inform lifeworld theory and transformative learning) in a novel setting (NYU Abu Dhabi regional academic travel). The design of this research could be used for future studies to examine learning in an in-depth way, whilst assuring that the accounts given could be considered authentic. Finally, the results also led to recommendations for improvement of future regional academic travel trips offered by The Office of Global Education.

This research investigates cases of learning pathways for improving rehabilitation practices for key occupations in the mining industry. The study is set up as a partnership research programme between Rhodes University Environmental Learning Research Centre in South Africa, and the South African Qualification Authority, focussing on workplace learning and sustainability practices. This research programme seeks to understand the implications of the move to a knowledge society, with its emphasis on knowledge building over time, particularly in and for the environmental sector. The research was conducted as a qualitative case study that made use of semi-structured interviews, document analysis, visual photographs and observations as instruments of data gathering. Participants were sampled from two case studies, one in Limpopo province and the other one in Mpumalanga Province, who are directly involved in rehabilitation practices and related education and training programmes. The study makes use of career stories from the key occupations to provide insight into workplace learning pathways to inform education and training in the mining industry. A series of analytical statements captures some of the main findings on early education histories, career choices, learning pathway decisions and experiences related to sustainable practices and some complexities related to learning pathways. Environment and sustainability education is a cross-cutting issue in the NQF; and it pertains to the mining sector, especially to rehabilitation practices, which form the focus of this study as little is known about learning pathways associated with these sustainability practices. Insights from the study should enable the sector to enhance rehabilitation training for key occupations and at the same time encourage lifelong learning contributing towards sustainable development.

The aims of the present study were to investigate how women manage the transition to professional programmes of higher education and to identify what might assist and hinder their coping. Initial conceptualisations were based on an assumption that there would be an interaction between the different spheres in which the women operate; the private, the professional and higher education. The literature reveals a preoccupation with either psychological or social factors but there is a lack of theory which integrates these and 'solutions' put forward, aimed at assisting women in education, are broad and general. The investigation took place in a School of a British University where the professional areas chosen were social work and health care education. A feminist ethnographic approach using multiple methods of data collection was taken. However, as the central focus was an investigation of subjective accounts a phenomenological perspective was adopted and the methods used were mainly qualitative. The investigation took place over two phases, covering the period of transition to programmes over two consecutive years. The overarching theme to emerge is the importance of continuities in terms of what women 'bring' from the private sphere and their professional context. Aspects of these continuities were found to centrally impinge upon the women's sense of who they are and their current situation, and arise from their social situation. Higher education does not always recognise the importance of these continuities. The private sphere, the professional Context and higher education are conceptualised as 'greedy institutions', with competing demands and value bases. It is the movement between these contexts which causes problems for women. An integrative framework based largely on Breakwell's (1986) theory of coping with threatened identity is developed. The framework is extended to include a feminist analysis of the social context in order to understand the women's coping. Specific suggestions are put forward to assist mature women students 'manage' the transition.