This doctoral thesis addresses one of the most significant topics in contemporary research in international migration; that is the education-occupation mismatch of highly qualified foreign workers in the labour market of a host country. The thesis focuses on the situation in the Czech labour market in the time-period between 2009 and 2016. By the possibility to utilize a unique set of non-public, anonymized individual data on foreign employment this thesis provides a first thorough empirical evidence on the level of mismatch of skilled migrant workers in the Czech labour market, with a dominant focus on quantitative approach to the given issue. Results of the research reveal that the mismatch between the migrant employees' attained (tertiary) and required education at their job occupations on the Czech labour market does exist and it is encountered by 20-30 % of tertiary educated foreign workers; moreover, level of mismatch has been gradually increasing over the given time-period. The differences in the level of mismatch then fundamentally differ across particular citizenship groups. The resulting level of mismatch of highly skilled foreign workers in the Czech labour market seems to be driven predominantly by broader social and economic drivers. More specifically, these are particularly a limited...

There has been growing concern in the higher education sector in South Africa about the high number of students with low academic literacy (AL) levels who are gaining entry into the sector. This influx necessitated the introduction of academic literacy interventions which are aimed at supporting these students in meeting the academic literacy requirements of university education. As a result, the tertiary sector has seen a growing number of AL interventions, each catering for a different context. However, the available literature reports very little substantial evidence on the impact/effectiveness of such interventions regarding the purpose for which they have been designed. The Vaal Triangle Campus (VTC) of the North-West University has also found that the majority of first year students who register at this Campus in order to attain a tertiary qualification, show inadequate levels of academic literacy in English. However, the academic literacy intervention that is currently used at this campus has never been formally assessed for its effectiveness in improving students’ academic literacy levels. The purpose of the current study was therefore to investigate the impact of the academic literacy intervention on students’ academic literacy levels. This intervention, which consists of two complementary semester modules, is offered over a one-year period to new first year students. As a first step, a comprehensive literature survey was conducted on important changes that took place in the tertiary education sector after 1994. The reason for this enquiry is based on the fact that many of these changes, such as the ‘massification’ of tertiary education, had far-reaching consequences for the tertiary sector in terms of more underprepared students who gained access to university education. Furthermore, available literature on the types of academic literacy interventions in South Africa, as well as specific sources on the reported impact of such interventions, were critiqued. The empirical part of the study made use of both a qualitative and quantitative research paradigm in order to investigate the impact of the AL intervention at the VTC. A highly reliable academic literacy test (the TALL – Test of Academic Literacy Levels) was used to determine whether students showed any significant improvement in their levels of academic literacy as a result of the intervention. This study reports positive findings in this regard. The investigation further gathered opinion-based data through the administration of three questionnaires aimed at determining student and lecturer perceptions of the impact of the intervention. The main findings of the two student questionnaires (one administered for each AL module) show that students generally see the value in attending the academic literacy modules because they feel that they derive benefit from them. The findings of the lecturer survey indicate that although mainstream lecturers are acutely aware of the low academic literacy levels of their students, they do not see the impact of the intervention on improving such levels. They are further not very knowledgeable about what the focus of the intervention entails. The main conclusion of this study is, in brief, that the academic literacy intervention has a definite effect on the improvement of students’ academic literacy levels. However, no conclusive data was found to support the idea that the improvement was due only to the influence of the intervention. / MA (Applied Language Studies), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

There has been growing concern in the higher education sector in South Africa about the high number of students with low academic literacy (AL) levels who are gaining entry into the sector. This influx necessitated the introduction of academic literacy interventions which are aimed at supporting these students in meeting the academic literacy requirements of university education. As a result, the tertiary sector has seen a growing number of AL interventions, each catering for a different context. However, the available literature reports very little substantial evidence on the impact/effectiveness of such interventions regarding the purpose for which they have been designed. The Vaal Triangle Campus (VTC) of the North-West University has also found that the majority of first year students who register at this Campus in order to attain a tertiary qualification, show inadequate levels of academic literacy in English. However, the academic literacy intervention that is currently used at this campus has never been formally assessed for its effectiveness in improving students’ academic literacy levels. The purpose of the current study was therefore to investigate the impact of the academic literacy intervention on students’ academic literacy levels. This intervention, which consists of two complementary semester modules, is offered over a one-year period to new first year students. As a first step, a comprehensive literature survey was conducted on important changes that took place in the tertiary education sector after 1994. The reason for this enquiry is based on the fact that many of these changes, such as the ‘massification’ of tertiary education, had far-reaching consequences for the tertiary sector in terms of more underprepared students who gained access to university education. Furthermore, available literature on the types of academic literacy interventions in South Africa, as well as specific sources on the reported impact of such interventions, were critiqued. The empirical part of the study made use of both a qualitative and quantitative research paradigm in order to investigate the impact of the AL intervention at the VTC. A highly reliable academic literacy test (the TALL – Test of Academic Literacy Levels) was used to determine whether students showed any significant improvement in their levels of academic literacy as a result of the intervention. This study reports positive findings in this regard. The investigation further gathered opinion-based data through the administration of three questionnaires aimed at determining student and lecturer perceptions of the impact of the intervention. The main findings of the two student questionnaires (one administered for each AL module) show that students generally see the value in attending the academic literacy modules because they feel that they derive benefit from them. The findings of the lecturer survey indicate that although mainstream lecturers are acutely aware of the low academic literacy levels of their students, they do not see the impact of the intervention on improving such levels. They are further not very knowledgeable about what the focus of the intervention entails. The main conclusion of this study is, in brief, that the academic literacy intervention has a definite effect on the improvement of students’ academic literacy levels. However, no conclusive data was found to support the idea that the improvement was due only to the influence of the intervention. / MA (Applied Language Studies), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

Published Article / One of the main tasks of universities is to prepare students for an academic or professional career, and to make them responsible members of society by giving them the motivation and skills to create a better future. Education for Sustainable Development is a core feature of education in a university of the 21th century and in society. In a university, it has two aspects: firstly, to educate students and to help future academics to contribute to sustainable development, secondly, to contribute to sustainability and to spread education for sustainable development in the community. We consider examples of successful cooperation between the university and its stakeholders via projects that are relevant for education for sustainable development. We analyse the success factors and the educational and sustainability impacts of these projects.

Dit is nie oordrewe om te beweer dat die Suid-Afrikaanse onderwyssisteem tans midde-in 'n krisis staan nie. Dat ook die tersiere onderwyssektor ten nouste deur die omvang van hierdie krisis geraak word, kan nie betwis word nie. Die dilemma soos wat dit huidig binne die onderwys manifesteer, is direk herleibaar tot die jarelange apartheidsbeleid van die verlede. Dit is besonderlik die tersiere onderwyssektor wat 'n onvoldoende verrekening van die behoeftes van die gemeenskap weerspieel - veral die onderwysgerigte probleme en uitdagings binne die breer Afrikakonteks. In 'n poging om die onderwysspeelveld gelyk te maak, is indringende veranderings en hervormings besig om plaas te vind aan die bree onderwysfront. Verskeie onderwysimperatiewe tree na vore:Regstellings met betrekking tot die diskrepansie in onderwysstandaarde; Die toekomstige onderwysbehoeftes van die groeiende bevolking wat geakkommodeer moet word; Opgeleide mannekrag wat voorsien moet word ten einde 'n lewensvatbare en progressiewe ekonomie te verseker Die eiesoortige probleme van groot massas individue wat ongeskoold is of wat beskik oor 'n minderwaardige skoolopleiding, wat aangespreek moet word. Een van die grootste struikelblokke wat staan in die weg om die voorgenoemde probleemareas daadwerklik aan te spreek, is dosente aan tersiere onderwysinstansies se oenskynlike gebrek aan toereikende onderrig- en begeleidingsvaardighede. In die literatuurstudie is verskeie navorsingsbevindinge aangehaal wat daarop dui dat die meerderheid dosente vasgevang is in 'n nimmereindigende gejaag na die verwerwing van kwalifikasies en die publisering van navorsingsresultate - ongelukkig ten koste van doeltreffende onderrig en begeleiding van studente. Hierbenewens het dit ook aan die lig gekom dat meer as 80% van alle dosente aan geselekteerde tersiere onderwysinstansies in Suid-Afrika, oor geen vorm van formele onderrigkwalifikasies beskik nie.n Vraelys is ontwikkel ten einde te bepaal tot watter mate bevestiging vir die literatuurbevindinge in die praktyk gevind kon word en ook om dosente se algemene persepsies te toets met betrekking tot die doseerprofessie in sy geheel. Daar is veral klem gele op die onderskeie komponente van dosentskap - begeleiding en onderrig, navorsing, administrasie en gemeenskapsdiens. Drie bree kategoriee dosente is betrek by die studie, naamlik diegene verteenwoordigend van: Histories Afrikaanse Instellings; Histories Engelse Instellings; en Histories Swart Instellings. Uit hoofde van die bevindinge van die empiriese ondersoek, is praktykgerigte riglyne vir onderrig en begeleiding binne andragogiese konteks neergele. / It is not an exaggeration to maintain that the educational system in South Africa finds itself in the midst of a crisis. It can furthermore not be denied that tertiary education in particular is profoundly involved in this crisis. The dilemma which presently manifests in the educational sector is without doubt the result of the prolonged apartheidspolicy of the past. The tertiary sector, in particular, reflects an inadequate consideration of the unique needs of the broader community. In an effort to level the educational playfield, incisive changes and reconstruction are currently taking place in the broader educational sector. Various educational imperatives emerge:Affirmative action with regard to the discrepency in educational standards have to be addressed; The future educational needs of the growing South African population have to be accommodated; Qualified manpower that has to be provided so as to ensure a viable and progressive economy; The unique problems of large numbers of individuals who are unskilled or who are in possession of an inferior school education, have to be considered. A major obstacle in the way of addressing the aforementioned problem areas, is lecturers' apparent lack of sufficient teaching and accompaniment skills. Various research findings are quoted which point to the fact that the majority of lecturers are trapped in a spiral of obtaining qualifications and publishing research findings. This process unfortunately impacts negatively on effective teaching and the accompaniment of students. ·A related finding confirms that more than 80% of all lecturers at selected tertiary institutions in South Africa are not in possession of a professional teaching qualification. A questionnaire was developed in order to establish to which degree confirmation could be found in practice for the literature findings and also to establish lecturers' general perceptions with regard to the teaching profession. Emphasis was placed on the different components of the lecturing task. Three broad categories of lecturers were involved in the study, namely those representing: Historically Afrikaans Institutions; Historically English Institutions; and Historically black institutions. In view of the findings of the empirical study, practice-based guidelines for teaching and accompaniment within andragogical context were put forward. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Orthopedagogics)

In this thesis I advocate and evidence ESD through understanding and analysing the ecology of change in educational organisations, in particular Tertiary Education (TE), during the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD, 2005-2014). I draw on my portfolio of research that examined various aspects of the efforts to mainstream ESD during this decade. My publications, which are referred to in this thesis, are based on experience of my own practice as lecturer, educational development manager and advocate of ESD at local, national and global level. My research approach is broadly based on action research principles. I argue that, to fully understand this complex change process, it is necessary to appreciate the role of the underpinning, and often conflicting, values in TE and how they influence the adoption of ESD. I further discuss the influence of both ‘top-down’ approaches, that are expressed in policies and frameworks, and ‘bottom-up’ approaches that are instigated by communities and individuals with special interests. The influence of the learning environment itself is also examined. Lastly, I make the case that the employment of appropriate action research methodologies can help with gaining a better understanding of this process as well as play a part in the process itself.

The tertiary education environment has become known for its stressful working conditions. Factors such as high work demands (i.e. work overload, excessive time demands and work pressure) and insufficient resources (i.e. limited developmental possibilities, poor performance feedback, lack of support, etc.) all contribute to these stressful circumstances. As a result, these circumstances can cause employees to experience negative interferences between their work and nonwork roles. In addition, employees do not have adequate time to invest in their nonwork domains, hence nonwork roles are neglected (such as being a parent, being a spouse, spending time on domestic activities and spending time on religious/spiritual activities). To decrease these negative interferences, it is important for employees to recover from strains that were activated at work. The objectives of this study were to determine 1) which demands and resources significantly predicted work-nonwork interference among employees working in a tertiary education institution; and 2) which recovery strategies were significant in dealing with high levels of work-nonwork interference caused by high demands and a lack of resources. A random sample of 366 married parents was taken from a tertiary education institution in the North-West Province. A list was obtained of all the married parents of the institution. All of these employees were given the choice to participate in the research. A measuring battery measuring job demands (i.e. work pressure, emotional demands and cognitive demands), job resources (i.e. autonomy, social support and developmental possibilities), work-nonwork interference (i.e. work-parent, work-spouse, work-domestic and work-religion/spirituality) and recovery strategies (psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery and control) respectively was utilised in this study. Descriptive and inferential statistics, Cronbach alpha coefficients, Pearson product-moment correlations and stepwise multiple regression, using the enter method, were used to analyse the data. The results indicate that work pressure and emotional demands significantly predict interference between all four nonwork roles. Additionally, autonomy and developmental possibilities significantly predicted work-parent and work-religion/spirituality interference respectively. Furthermore, all of the recovery strategies decreased specific worknonwork interference. Psychological detachment decreased the interference between the workspouse relationship and the work-religion/spirituality relationship. Relaxation predicted the decrease of interference between the following relationships: work-parent, work-spouse, and work-domestic. Mastery and control only significantly predicted the decrease of interference between the work-parent relationship and between the work-domestic activities respectively. Various recommendations were made for tertiary education institutions as well as for future research. Tertiary education institutions should manage high job demands by examining employees’ workload and job descriptions. Managers could possibly diminish work pressure and emotional demands by means of courses/workshops pertaining to self-management, time and organisational skills, emotional intelligence and/or coping with emotions. Tertiary education institutions should also focus on supporting employees who experience work-nonwork interferences and manage it effectively. In addition, the awareness of recovery and various recovery strategies should be promoted. Recommendations for future research include expanding the research to other occupational groups, longitudinal research designs, obtaining various opinions and perspectives of individuals also involved in the work-nonwork dyad and the study of the positive interaction between the work and nonwork roles. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011

This thesis deals with the recent issue of increased number of university students. It entails the problematic success on the labor market or reduction of quality of the particular studies. This research focuses not only on the Czech Republic region but also on some other chosen countries contending with the very similar issue. This thesis follows the analogous paper of Jan Keller and Lubor Tvrdý: "Vzdělanostní společnost? Chrám, výtah a pojišťovna". Classical statistical research and questionnaire survey were employed as the key methods of answering the main inquiries.

This thesis deals with a training of primary school teachers in the Czech Republic and in the French-speaking part of Belgium. It is a comparative study analyzing corresponding systems of tertiary education. In detail it describes selected examples of education used by the Faculty of Education of Charles University in Prague and the École normale catholique du Brabant Wallon at Haute Ecole Léonard de Vinci in Louvain - la - Neuve. For the purpose of mutual inspiration it presents individual curricula of both universities, the relationship of theory and practice in the studies and, based on author`s own observations and experience, reflections of two specific issues from each institution which are interesting and unique. It also presents problems of professional competence of teachers who apply for teacher training. Because such paper is already valid in Belgium, while in the Czech Republic it is still in progress. Both schools have a lot to offer for its current students, but there is always space for further development.

My diploma thesis deals with key competences, on whose further development should focus not only managers, but primarily universities offering managerial education. The aim was to find out what competences might be required in practice from the graduates of managerial fields of studies on chosen middle management positions, then to compare the established requirements with the content of the curriculum stipulated for Bachelor's Study Programme at the Faculty of Management of the University of Economics, and finally to elaborate a summary of recommendations suitable for the optimal harmonization of this programme with the requirements of established practice.