This study focuses on two roll-outs of a, year-long National Qualification Framework (NQF) level 5, environmental education learnership in South Africa and attempts at enhancing collaborative learning at workplaces using a familiar social networking site called Facebook. This study uses the Facebook group sites created for the workplace course component of the course as one of the means of data collection. Additional interviews and focus groups with learners and administrators on both Environmental Education Training and Development Practices (EETDP) courses also informed the study. The study is located within the context of the rise of the information age, its effects on socio-ecological landscape at large and ways of using social networking sites in order to facilitate scaffolding and meaning making within zones of proximal development for environmental education learnerships. It also looks at the model of apprenticeship and workplace based learning as it is broadly located at the nexus of the SAQA-led academic inquiry into workplace based learning and professional development. It was found that the use of Facebook on the EETDP learnership allowed for collaborative learning to take place between peer to peer interactions as well as between tutors and learners. It was also noted that scaffolding processes requires both technical assistance and strong instructional input from course tutors. One of the most important findings in terms of collaborative learning and engaging within the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) was that learners were able to communicate more effectively and freely with both fellow learners and tutors on course after participating on the Facebook group sites. The study offers recommendations on how a social networking platform like Facebook can be utilised effectively for environmental education. The study recommends that scaffolding of workplace based tasks and concepts needs to be better integrated with the course and in both online and offline interactions between learners. It also illustrates how social networking sites can become powerful tools for creating meaning making when combined with course work.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / In this study an attempt was made to explore the challenges with regard to publications experienced by academic women at three selected Historically Black Universities (HBUs). Although based predominantly within a feminist qualitative metholodogical framework, both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used in this study. Based on the findings of the study, the recommendations illustrated participants' responses. Some of the recommendations illustrated participants' expressed need of staff development with a specific focus on training in publication skills; mentoring and support networks; assistance and support for their publishing venture at both institutional and departmental level and the development of strategies that would assist academic women in 'juggling' their personal and academic roles. / South Africa

Thesis submitted for the degree Master of Education in the Faculty of Education and Social Science at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2014 / ‘Underpreparedness’ of students entering higher education is an issue that many academic institutions in South Africa are currently addressing. These students, who are referred to as ‘underprepared’, are more often than not black students. They are seen as disadvantaged, lacking the skills, knowledge and/or language proficiency to navigate their way to success in higher education. This study seeks to identify students’ understanding of the behaviours they should display in higher education and how this clashes with the expectations of academics. It examines how students try to engage with the institutional discourse and how they try to identify a ‘sense of being’. Qualitative research was used through the administration of essays that students were expected to write, as well as individual face-to-face interviews. The essays and interviews tried to gauge how students perceived themselves as Nature Conservation students. Lecturers were also interviewed so that a comparison could be made between what students perceive and the expectations of academics in higher education. Various themes were identified through the analysis of the student essays and interviews, by using an inductive approach. Through the development of these themes, the gap could be identified between students and lecturers.

Thesis (MTech (Tourism))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / This study investigated the role of ICT in the teaching, training and learning of hospitality students at The International Hotel School (IHS), and was conducted in the form of a case study based on the teaching, training and learning techniques used at the three campuses of The International Hotel School (IHS) in South Africa, and involved purposive and stratified random sampling. It was conducted over an 18 month period, using survey questionnaires, focus group discussions, and interviews. The researcher had, over a considerable period while in the classroom, observed a trend by students to increasingly use the internet to source information while studying, rather than spending time in a classroom being taught the required information. Based on observations of how students chose to learn, the researcher also deduced that there needed to be a shift from traditional face to face teaching and learning in a classroom environment, in order to accommodate the changing learning needs of students. The aim of the research was thus to define the role of ICT within hospitality studies at the IHS and gauge the impact of teaching, training and learning on the current hospitality curriculum, as well as the long- term initiatives within the hospitality field. A sub-objective was to enhance the learning process of students by making use of ICT to assist the learning process and make the learning material more interactive. This would assist both the student and the lecturer. The findings, based on the responses from students and academic staff at the Cape Town Campus of the IHS, and the interviews and focus group discussions with all IHS staff suggest the recognition for a move to the use of ICT’s in the formal educational process at the IHS. The results of the study lead to the recommendations for a change towards the role of ICT in the teaching and learning process.

M.Ed. / South Africa is faced with the challenge of reconstruction and social recovery having held its .first democratic elections in 1994. Education was central to the discursive process of racial and cultural segregation (Baxen & Soudien 1999: 131). After the 1994 elections the whole education dispensation in South Africa was bound to change dramatically. This is a logical deduction since new role players will always have a new vision, in order to spell out the new roads to be embarked upon. Jansen (1999:145) puts it as follows: "...OBE as primarily a political response to apartheid schooling rather than one which is concerned with the modalities of change at classroom level". A multitude of changes have taken place in the interim. One of the major changes was legislation that provided for the establishment of SAQA (South African Qualifications Authority). The Act was promulgated in 1996, Act 58 of 1996. The main objective of SAQA is to provide for the development and implementation of the NQF (National Qualifications Framework). The NQF brought about a new structure regarding bands of education and levels of qualifications within the said bands. (Refer to diagram 1). According to Pretorius (1998:4) the framework of the NQF makes provision for life-long learning opportunities and levels of qualifications nationally agreed upon.

D.Ed. (Didactics) / The main objective of this research is to develop a diagnostic model for the prediction of mathematics achievement for first year university students. In order to design this model of prediction, the following objectives were formulated: * to establish a profile of a typical successful and unsuccessful student in Mathematics; * to calculate the probable final mark achieved by a student in Mathematics; * to establish the probability of success by a student in Mathematics. In this research various factors determinating the academic performance of first year students at a university are discussed. Firstly the transition from school to university and its implications on the student, the teaching of a subject and its influence, and those factors inherent in the student are investigated. The factors inherent to the student are described as cognitive factors (intelligence, aptitude and previous performance) and non-cognititve factors (study methods and attitudes, interest, anxiety, personality and adjustment).

In the mid-1980’s institutions of higher learning were coerced by the South African government to admit students from all races. As a result, these institutions were confronted with the need to identify preparedness for higher learning, especially amongst the ex-Department of Education and Training (DET) learners. Grade 12 results were not a sufficient predictor for ex-DET learners, and a review of current admission criteria became a necessity. This study aims to develop a suitable science entry-level test to be used as a component of an existing test battery. The test battery is used as an admission tool by the Port Elizabeth Technikon to further assess first year applicants who do not meet the normal entrance requirements for a science course. The only requirement for further assessment being Grade 12 physical science. The science entry-level test consists of a list of validated science skills and knowledge to be used to assess the skills and knowledge mastered at the time of test taking. On the basis of test scores, an assessment is made regarding the applicant’s preparedness for higher learning. This study holds the view that preparedness in students for higher learning in science can be measured by means of valid science competencies. In addition, knowledge of the level of preparedness of the applicant enables further educational support and guidance to be provided where necessary. Research which measures manifest academic ability rather than potential to learn is favoured since it is believed that the former generates psychometric evidence of that which was already mastered academically whilst the latter determines whether the student will be able to achieve under ideal conditions. The content covered by the proposed Science Competency Test was sanctioned by technikon lecturers of first year physics and chemistry courses. The content was taken from the examinable section of the Grade 11 and 12 physical science syllabi. This content is the most acceptable and fair knowledge-base a prospective science student can be expected to have mastered at school. The content was limited to those skills and knowledge believed by the lecturers to contribute to academic success in the first year. Items that tested this content were compiled and pilot tests were administered to Grade 12 physical science learners at various disadvantaged schools. The Science Competency Test was compiled from the pool of trial items after the performance of the items was statistically determined. This final Science Competency Test was completed by a sample of 179 first-time first year science students. The findings of the study were inconclusive as the Science Competency Test showed a moderate predictive ability for only one section of the sample. It further showed that the weighted matric score, WMS was not a significant predictor of future academic performance of the sample either. A discrepancy in performance amongst learners of different home languages and educational backgrounds was also noted.

Information literacy is widely acknowledged as important for student success in higher education. Information literacy is the ability to sort through a large amount of available information, decide what is useful and believable, and apply it in an effective and ethical way. Faculty members have expectations regarding information literacy for students in the first year of college, while students have information literacy practices that may or may not match those expectations. In my study, I examined the alignment of faculty member information literacy expectations and student information literacy practices, focusing on freshman students and faculty members who teach freshman students in a required general education course at a public university in the northwestern United States. Using an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design, I began my study with qualitative interviews of students and faculty members, used data from the interviews to develop a survey instrument, conducted a pilot study with the survey instrument, and used the survey instrument to administer an online quantitative survey to 106 students and 10 faculty members. The survey consisted of 42 items pertaining to student practices and faculty expectations as identified by student and faculty member interview participants. Survey data showed the percentage of faculty members expecting a practice was generally higher than the percentage of students carrying out that practice. Overall, the study findings revealed a gap between faculty expectations and student practices.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctor of Nursing in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / Background In recent times, the internationalization of nursing education and the collaboration with international academic partners has become a priority of academic institutions’ strategic plans and visions. This coupled with the fact that the world has entered a critical period in terms of addressing health and preparing nurses to address health needs has made this study timeous. In view of these historical challenges, nursing education institutions, nursing colleges and universities with nursing faculties in South Africa have, in recent years, engaged in international partnerships. These collaborative partnerships have influenced the delivery and facilitation of transnational nursing education (TNE) or cross-border nursing programmes, both nationally and internationally. Challenges raised with regards to TNE delivery systems are often related to issues revolving around academic design and implementation. Further issues such as the differences between the host institution’s general goals, the academic programs, student characteristics and social and cultural dimensions as compared to the awarding institution, add to these challenges. Aim The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives and practices and experiences of nursing education institutions, academic leaders and graduates, who were involved in TNE. Based on the findings of this study, the ultimate aim was to develop guidelines for the implementation of TNE in NEIs. Methodology A qualitative multiple case-study approach was employed to explore institutional perspectives and practices related to TNE. The population comprised nursing education institutions, academic leaders and nursing graduates that were involved in TNE programs. In order to draw comparison between South African TNE practices and perspectives with international best operating practices relating to TNE, other global academic leaders and institutions involved in this type of education were invited to participate in the study. Institutional records were analysed for descriptions and patterns related to conceptual issues, structures and processes that are known to impact either negatively or positively on TNE. Results The study findings revealed that access to ‘importing’ and ‘exporting’ of nursing programs are still faced with many challenges by all stakeholders. It was also revealed that the lack of guidance during TNE ventures allude to cross-border nursing education being a ‘for profit’ arrangement. From the findings the researcher was able to propose and develop guidelines for the implementation of TNE for nursing education institutions, academic leaders and students. It is hoped that these guidelines will be considered as a tool to improve TNE delivery in terms of quality assurance, accreditation, registration, and qualification recognition. / D

D.Phil. (Linguistics) / Please refer to full text to view abstract