The purpose of this study was to explore the conceptions of academics at the NMMU concerning the nature and purpose of teaching portfolios in higher education. The study was guided by the following research question: What are the conceptions of academics concerning the nature and purpose of teaching portfolios in higher education? A case study, involving academics at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), was used to answer the research question. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods research design was employed to collect data from an electronic questionnaire consisting of Likert-scale type of responses and open-ended questions, followed by two focus group interviews with academics that had prior experience in the development of a teaching portfolio. Forty-five academics responded to the questionnaire sent to all the academics at the NMMU, providing a broad perspective on the conceptions of NMMU academics regarding the nature and purpose of teaching portfolios. The two focus group interviews were conducted with six and eight academics respectively who was purposively chosen for their prior experience with the development of teaching portfolios. The aim of the focus group interviews were to elaborate on the data generated by the questionnaire. The quantitative data gathered by the questionnaire was statistically analysed, generating descriptive statistics of the Likert type response statements. The transcripts of the focus group interviews were thematically analysed. The conceptual framework that initially guided the formulation of the sub-research questions was amended to include the themes that emerged from the thematic analysis of the data, namely: the portfolio development process, the uses of and purposes for developing teaching portfolios, the attitudes of academics towards teaching portfolios, and the benefits gained from the development of teaching portfolios. The findings of the study revealed that of the participants find work overload and additional responsibilities as major constraints and collaboration among peers as the most helpful factor in the development of a teaching portfolio. The findings further revealed that the majority of the participants identified items to be included in a teaching portfolio that would enable them to use the portfolio in the development of their teaching. A mixture of attitudes towards teaching portfolios was identified. Some academics (in particular those who have prior experience in the development of portfolios) displayed a positive attitude towards teaching portfolios, while participants reported a negative attitude towards teaching portfolios by most of their colleagues (mostly those who have not developed a portfolio yet). The negative attitudes do seem to overpower the positive attitudes towards teaching portfolios. The challenge to the NMMU would therefore be to get academics to make use of the initiatives provided by the NMMU to assist them with the teaching portfolio development process. Four recommendations that may serve as guidelines to assist in the successful implementation of teaching portfolios at the NMMU were made, based on the findings of the study. Although the results of this study cannot be generalized to other higher education institutions, they do provide insights in the conception of the academics regarding the nature and purpose of teaching portfolios at the NMMU that can be of benefit to other higher education institutions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:9591 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Champion, Eunice Nomava |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Education |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MEd |
| Format | xii, 211 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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