scholarly journals Student Challenges with the University Access Program in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 239
Author(s):  
Lerato Sekonyela
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
School Level ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
University Admission ◽  
University Access ◽  
Access Programme ◽  
The University

This paper reflects on experienced challenges by registered University Access Programme (UAP) students in South Africa. South African learners continue to face challenges in accessing institutions of higher education due to school performance. Therefore, to address this issue, the University of the Free State (UFS) in South Africa introduced UAP in 1993 to assist deserving students who did not meet university admission requirements due to underperformance at the school level. The UAP seemed to address the issue of access to higher education institution(s). However, once students gained access, they have faced several challenges. A Free-Attitude Interview (FAI) technique was used to identify the challenges that students experienced in UAP. Students indicated the need to improve academic support.

scholarly journals Lecturers’ Experiences of the Blurring of Time and Space during Covid-19 in a South African ODeL University

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine Naidu ◽  
Mpho-Entle Puleng Modise
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
College Of Education ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The University

Education has been greatly impacted by the current Covid-19 pandemic. With countries worldwide experiencing unprecedented extended lockdowns, higher education providers have sought innovative technological ways of effectively delivering tuition and support to diverse students. This has, however, also increased the blurring of the work–home boundaries. This paper reports on the way in which Covid-19 facilitated the blurring of the work–home boundaries of academics in the College of Education at the University of South Africa, a distance education institution. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from 15 lecturers via Microsoft Teams. The results showed that, owing to a lack of workspace at their homes, many academics were forced to work beyond normal office hours. Inexplicit expectations from the employer exacerbated the blurring of work–home interfaces for many academics. The results of this study can be used for future research to seek ways in which the management of the University of South Africa or employers of other higher education institutions can help to reduce the blurring of work–home boundaries.

The educational research landscape on GIS integration and challenges – globally and in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 19-41
Author(s):  
Elfrieda Fleischmann ◽  
◽  
Christo van der Westhuizen ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Mixed Method Study ◽  
Global Trend ◽  
Gis Integration ◽  
Depth Interviews

As Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have only been included in the curriculum in the last decade, many educators globally struggle to integrate GIS practice into their teaching strategies. Following the global trend, South African educators might feel ill equipped as they did not receive formal GIS training in a higher education institution. This paper highlights key global and South African challenges regarding GIS integration. To compare the challenges that South Africa faces with those experienced elsewhere, this mixed method study gleaned data from student educators (n=78) who completed a questionnaire regarding their GIS FET Phase education, followed by in-depth interviews with FET Phase educators (n=10) and two provincial heads of Geography for the Department of Basic Education (DBE). Results from this study indicate a clear global and national pattern of barrier categories.

scholarly journals Job embeddedness, organisational commitment and voluntary turnover of academic staff at a higher education institution in South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-30
Author(s):  
Cebile Mensele ◽  
Melinde Coetzee
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Voluntary Turnover ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Job Embeddedness ◽  
Normative Commitment ◽  
Organisational Commitment ◽  
Intention To Stay

Academic staff recruitment and retention remain a challenge in South Africa and internationally. Most academics at South African universities are ageing, with fewer younger people entering academia. The objectives of the study were to determine empirically whether job embeddedness and organisational commitment significantly predict voluntary turnover and whether people from different gender, race and age groups differ significantly in terms of these three variables. The measuring instruments used were the Job Embeddedness Scale (JES), the Organisational Commitment Scale (OCS) and the Voluntary Turnover Scale (VTS). A cross-sectional quantitative survey design was used to collect data from a random sample of (N=102) full-time academic staff at a South African higher education institution in Gauteng. The findings showed that organisational fit, community links and normative commitment significantly and positively predicted the participants’ intention to stay at the institution. Female participants showed higher levels of organisational fit and sacrifice, hence a stronger intention to stay. White participants had stronger community links and fit, and the African participants had higher levels of normative commitment than the other race groups. The current study adds to the knowledge base on the turnover intentions of academic staff and makes recommendations for retention practices and possible future research.

scholarly journals The educational research landscape on GIS integration and challenges – globally and in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-80
Author(s):  
Elfrieda M-L Fleischmann ◽  
Christo P. van der Westhuizen
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Mixed Method Study ◽  
Global Trend ◽  
Gis Integration ◽  
Depth Interviews

As Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have only been included in the curriculum in the last decade, many educators globally struggle to integrate GIS practice into their teaching strategies. Following the global trend, South African educators might feel ill-equipped as they did not receive formal GIS training in a higher education institution. This paper highlights key global and South African challenges regarding GIS integration. To compare the challenges that South Africa faces with those experienced elsewhere, this mixed-method study gleaned data from student educators (n=78) who completed a questionnaire regarding their GIS FET Phase education, followed by in-depth interviews with FET Phase educators (n=10) and two provincial heads of Geography for the Department of Basic Education (DBE). Results from this study indicate a clear global and national pattern of barrier categories.

scholarly journals An investigation of students’ experience of service quality delivered by administrative staff at one site of a South African comprehensive university

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Mxolisi Walter Ntoyakhe
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
South African ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Administrative Staff ◽  
Comprehensive University ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
Perceptions And Expectations ◽  
The University

Over the last decade the institutional framework within which most universities in South Africa operate has undergone major transformation forcing the higher education sector to become more competitive in its approach to attracting and retaining quality students. Against this background, service quality has been put forward as a critical determinant of competitiveness. Higher Education Institutions are increasingly placing greater emphasis on meeting students’ expectations and needs. As institutions of higher learning become more student orientated, student perceptions of higher educational facilities and services are becoming more essential. It is clear that there is a need to measure students’ experience of service quality in order to develop innovative academic structures, facilities and services to retain and attract new students. Therefore, this study used a mixed research approach and a nonprobability sampling technique to identify the sample size. The purpose of this study was to investigate the students’ experience of service quality delivered by administrative staff at one site of a South African Comprehensive University. Underpinned by the Gap Model of service delivery and an adapted SERVQUAL instrument, this study sought to determine perceptions and expectations of service quality across five dimensions, namely: tangibles; reliability; responsiveness; assurance; and empathy. Questionnaires were used as data collection instrument to collect data from two hundred and sixty (260) registered students; twelve (12) academic departments, residence and library administrative staff members. Questionnaires were used to gather data from administrative staff of academic department, library and residence; and registered students in one comprehensive university in South Africa. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24 was used to analyse the data. Statistical tools that include frequencies, mean scores and tabulations were utilized to present the data from findings. The Wilcoxon signed ranks test was also utilized to further analyse the significance of the gaps. Various gaps between students’ perceptions and expectations indicating dissatisfaction with administrative services particularly among the students were identified. The findings from the study indicated that, a negative service quality gap exists at selected site of Comprehensive University in SA. The findings further suggested that issues such as service quality planning and monitoring, establishing recovery mechanisms for service failures, and student- driven service design and standards need to be high on the agenda at higher education institutions to ensure service quality. All five dimensions of SERVQUAL indicated a negative score or quality gap suggesting that the administrators of selected departments need to urgently close the gaps that exist at their institution; key recommendations were thus made to improve the gaps identified. Frequent interaction between the administrators and the students is recommended for the university as it provides important information on student expectations and perceptions. Continuous employee training to improve the existing skills is also recommended for comprehensive university employees as it can have a good impact on meeting the students’ expectations of the service quality dimensions. The study therefore, concluded that the university needed urgent intervention in terms of developing proper academic support structures, facilities and quality services that would satisfy the needs of students.

scholarly journals Challenges impeding women into leadership roles in a student-led organization at the South African higher education institution

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 508-518
Author(s):  
Nokwanda Jali ◽  
Sachin Suknunan ◽  
Anrusha Bhana
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
South African ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Women In Leadership ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
The University ◽  
South African Higher Education

The study shows that a patriarchal society where women are still in the minority when it comes to leadership positions is still dominating. A few studies are exploring the role of women in leadership in government and industry, and very little focus is paid on higher education institutions and more especially – from a female leadership perspective. Therefore, this paper aims to determine the factors that hindered female students from attaining leadership positions and simultaneously make recommendations to create more leadership opportunities in a nationally recognized student-led organization known as the Student Representative Council at a large public South African higher education institution – the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The target population was 16 female leaders who served in the University’s Student Representative Council from 2019 to 2020 of which 13 had responded. A qualitative approach was followed and interviews were conducted. The study employed inductive qualitative thematic analysis using NVIVO 12. Findings revealed that the Student Representative Council structure at the university was patriarchal with little commitment to gender equality. Males outnumbered women in leadership roles. Portfolios assigned to women were mainly administrative rather than leadership. Females were subjected to stereotypical behavior. The study recommended ways to promote female student leadership whereby policy and constitution change is required to facilitate gender equality and the implementation of quotas. Women should be empowered to enhance their leadership skills via effective leadership development programs specifically designed for females to address the leadership gap between males and females.

scholarly journals Present-Day Dillemas And Challenges Of The South African Tertiary System

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 285 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Mouton ◽  
G. P. Louw ◽  
G. L. Strydom
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Education System ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
School Level ◽  
First Year ◽  
Exit Point ◽  
The South ◽  
Higher Education System

The Education White Paper 3 on Higher Education aimed to transform the higher education system. Change within tertiary education included adjusting the size and shape of institutions, the meaning of autonomy and accountability, the nature of higher education, the character of student demographic distribution, management and governance, roles of student politics, models of delivery, the notion of higher education in terms of the relationship between free trade and public good, programme changes and the nature of the academic workplace. At this stage, transformation in higher education is leaping outwards to fulfil the criteria set by international competitiveness and related efficiency criteria that can be attributed to globalisation pressures and to deeper factors inherent in the nature of higher education, especially in terms of its resistance to change and modernization. In this regard, the tertiary higher education system in South Africa is faced with many multi-dimensional challenges that need to be addressed in this article. This includes stating whether Grade 12 results as the outcome of this exit point at school level are, internationally speaking, a reasonable predictor of first-year academic success at university. In South Africa, there is no benchmarking of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination; therefore, first-year students have difficulty in adapting to the university environment as they find themselves devoid of indispensable bases for the pursuit of their studies and the weakness of the level of education given at school level in a large number of instances. Furthermore, five universities were placed under administration in the 2011-2012 period because of appallingly poor levels of management, which adds extra layers of suspicion to the notion of the impact of higher education in South Africa. Many other challenges are facing the South African tertiary education system, which will be analysed and recommendations arrived at that will attempt to contribute to an enhancement of tertiary education in South Africa.

scholarly journals Anchored in Place: Rethinking the university and development in South Africa

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Bank ◽  
Nico Cloete ◽  
François van Schalkwyk
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Local Level ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Education Planning ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
The University

Tensions in South African universities have traditionally centred around equity (particularly access and affordability), historical legacies (such as apartheid and colonialism), and the shape and structure of the higher education system. What has not received sufficient attention, is the contribution of the university to place-based development. This volume is the first in South Africa to engage seriously with the place-based developmental role of universities. In the international literature and policy there has been an increasing integration of the university with place-based development, especially in cities. This volume weighs in on the debate by drawing attention to the place-based roles and agency of South African universities in their local towns and cities. It acknowledges that universities were given specific development roles in regions, homelands and towns under apartheid, and comments on why sub-national, place-based development has not been a key theme in post-apartheid, higher education planning. Given the developmental crisis in the country, universities could be expected to play a more constructive and meaningful role in the development of their own precincts, cities and regions. But what should that role be? Is there evidence that this is already occurring in South Africa, despite the lack of a national policy framework? What plans and programmes are in place, and what is needed to expand the development agency of universities at the local level? Who and what might be involved? Where should the focus lie, and who might benefit most, and why? Is there a need perhaps to approach the challenges of college towns, secondary cities and metropolitan centers differently? This book poses some of these questions as it considers the experiences of a number of South African universities, including Wits, Pretoria, Nelson Mandela University and especially Fort Hare as one of its post-centenary challenges.

scholarly journals Geographic Inequalities and Access to Higher Education: Is the Proximity to Higher Education Institution Associated with the Probability of Attendance in England?

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (7) ◽  
pp. 825-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. White ◽  
David M. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Geographical Inequalities ◽  
Ordinal Logistic Regression Analysis ◽  
University Access ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Enrollment Data ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract The relationship between geography and the selection of university is well documented and suggests that a student’s location substantially limits their choice of institution. However, there are few studies investigating the interplay between geography and the decision to attend university, particularly in the UK. This study aims to establish if distance to university is associated with the probability of enrolling in higher education in England and forms the quantitative half of a mixed-methods study on the subject. An ordinal logistic regression analysis of HESA enrollment data, which controls for deprivation, is employed. The investigation uses average direct measures of distance between each census area and university campus in England to determine the relationship between distance and enrollment. The findings suggest that geographical distance to university has a negative association with university enrollment. Students within the 10 km measure had a significantly increased odds of enrolling at university than students in the 40 km and above category (odds ratio 10.89; 95% CI 1–2), when controlling for deprivation and population density. It is hoped that the findings of this research will help to raise awareness of geographical inequalities and inform policy on university access.

scholarly journals Insights on student leadership using social dream drawing: Six propositions for the transformation role of South African student leaders

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neo T. Pule ◽  
Michelle May
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Student Development ◽  
Student Leadership ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Student Leaders ◽  
Education Legislation ◽  
Higher Education Legislation ◽  
The University ◽  
South African Higher Education

Background: Student leadership is central to the South African transformation agenda in higher education. Even so the understanding of student leadership, especially regarding its purpose and its implementation varies across contexts.Aim: This article aims to present propositions for student leadership practice considering the current diverse and often fragmented understanding of student leadership. Such propositions should aid the formation of a streamlined multi-levelled and systemic co-curriculum for student leadership that equips student leaders for their significant transformation task.Setting: The study was conducted in a South African higher education institution within the associated Student Affairs department. The university where data was collected is referred to as a historically White university.Methods: Social dream drawing was utilised to elicit data that enabled insights into student leadership. The data was analysed by pluralistically fusing discourse analysis with a psychodynamic interpretation.Results: The findings reveal a preoccupation in student leadership with South African historical narratives and the implications thereof for the present, and future, of the country. Additionally, student leaders indicated that there are complex psychological implications that result from their leadership experiences. Six propositions for student leadership are presented.Conclusion: The insights gained from the research study have the potential to contribute positively to higher education legislation and student development practice, particularly regarding the psychological conflicts that student leaders experience, and to the possible ways to resolve these. Because student leaders are key to the transformation agenda in South Africa, these insights can contribute directly towards their suitability in fulfilling this role.

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