A critical Fanonian understanding of black student identities at Rhodes University, South Africa
- Authors: Mercadal-Barroso, Adriana Kimberly
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Fanon, Frantz, 1925-1961 -- Political and social views , Rhodes University , Education, Higher , College graduates, Black -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Attitudes , Identity , Black people -- Ethnic identity
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3391 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016375
- Description: South African history is rooted in racial identities, inequalities and injustices, which the post-apartheid government has sought to address for twenty years since 1994. The transition to a post-apartheid society though has been a difficult one with the social structure and everyday life still marked by the racial past. Though racial classifications on an official basis no longer exist, racial identities continue to pervade the country. Of particular significance to this thesis are black identities including the possibility of black inferiority, which I examine in relation to black post-graduate university students in contemporary South Africa, specifically at Rhodes University. In examining this topic, I draw extensively on the work of Frantz Fanon, who wrote about both colonial society and the emerging post-colonial experience. Fanon was a young black intellectual whose work was in part based on his own experiences of being a once-colonised black person in a world which he perceived as being dominated by whiteness. In his work he expresses his own perceptions of whiteness and how the black identity has come to be shaped by and around this dominant white foundation. Fanon extensively discussed the lives of black intellectuals and elites, and demonstrated how the black identity becomes shaped by and around the world of whiteness. In doing so, he raised a range of themes, such as black inferiority, mimicry and double consciousness. I draw upon the work of Fanon in a critically sympathetic manner to delve into the experiences of black postgraduate students as they negotiate their way through a university setting dominated by a white institutional culture. I bring to the fore the argument that the racial identities of these students is not fixed and sutured but, rather, is marked by considerable fluidity and ambiguity such that black identity must be understood not just as a state of being but also as a process of becoming.
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- Date Issued: 2015
Staff retention at an institution of higher learning
- Authors: Sete, Lerato Virginia
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Employee retention , Employee motivation , Education, Higher
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/6564 , vital:21111
- Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate staff retention at an institution of higher learning. The University of South Africa (UNISA) was the institution under scrutiny in this study. The reason for conducting the study was that employees at UNISA, and especially those at the College of Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET) with scarce skills, were difficult to attract and retain in their positions. It is thought that this scenario could create an increased workload and lead to stress and job dissatisfaction among remaining staff members in the college. This could resultantly influence the quality of education rendered to students. It was therefore important to identify the reasons behind staff turnover and to consider possible retention strategies that could be employed to retain employees at UNISA. The theoretical study focused on two main facets: factors that influence an employee’s decision to either leave or stay in an organisation; and on retention strategies used by the institution. In addition, interviews were conducted with a senior executive in the Human Resource Department and a senior academic manager in CSET at UNISA, to gain their views on how scarce skills were defined, the reasons for staff turnover and the utilisation of retention strategies to retain employees. A qualitative analysis was applied to the interview responses. In addition, a survey consisting of a self-administered questionnaire was conducted amongst academic staff at CSET and 64 responses were received, which represented a response rate of 30%. The questionnaire focused mainly on turnover intention, factors influencing turnover and retention strategies. The information gathered from the questionnaire was statistically analysed and interpreted. The respondents provided mostly positive responses to personal, job and organisational factors which influence retention compared with market factors, indicating that these factors played a significant role in retention. The results revealed that factors such as: remuneration and packages; recognising academic staff for their contribution; providing a satisfying and stimulating work environment; valuing and engaging employees and empowering supervision could be used to retain employees with scarce skills. The respondents agreed that UNISA could be perceived as an employer of choice and was actively seeking ways to retain employees, but were uncertain of the extent to which a fair compensation system, an attractive value proposition and care for employees with scarce skills were evident. No significant differences were found in terms of length of service, gender or race.
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- Date Issued: 2015
Foundation phase teachers' continuous professional development
- Authors: Gallant, Reinhold Justin
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Foundation phase , Education, Higher , Identity (Philosophical concept) , Career development , Teachers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:9448 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1007898 , Foundation phase , Education, Higher , Identity (Philosophical concept) , Career development , Teachers
- Description: This research was based on the question of how Foundation Phase teachers perceived and experienced their professional development. This study was done at a school in the Northern Areas of Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa. The school is situated in a developing community that has a low socio-economic status characterised by infrastructural challenges. The school is newly established and started the year 2012 with mostly newly qualified teachers. In this study, the researcher wanted to know how the participants’ perceptions and experiences as teachers impact on their professional development. The review of relevant literature provided a conceptual framework for the study. This study explored the fact that a social constructivist theory is relevant for the professional development of foundation phase teachers. This theory is based on the fact that teachers construct their own knowledge and that more emphasis should be placed on theory within teachers’ practice. A qualitative research approach was suitable for this study. The data for the study was obtained by using photovoice and focus group interviews. The most important theme that emerged from the data collection was that the physical environment of the school and the surrounding area played a major role in how the teachers experienced their development. Other themes that emerged from the study were the need for educational resources, teacher collaboration and leadership. The findings show that more emphasis should be placed on the professional development of Foundation Phase teachers. Schools in poverty stricken areas of South Africa have an impact on how teachers experience their professional development. It has become clear that places of higher education need to consider the contexts in which schools are situated, especially in poverty stricken areas. Foundation Phase teachers are a vital part of education and as such the training of teachers in this phase should develop around whole-person learning within a life-long learning framework.
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- Date Issued: 2012
The use of social media for marketing and communication purpose in institutions of higher learning
- Authors: Mangolothi, Brightness
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Branding (Marketing) , Social media , Online social networks , Internet marketing , Education, Higher
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8821 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1019698
- Description: Social media have become a widely used tool to communicate with the orgnisations stakeholders. Institutions of higher learning are also venturing into this new way of marketing and communication. This study intended to determine how South African institutions of higher learning are using social media for marketing and communication purposes. Firstly, a literature study was conducted to gain an understanding on how social media are used. Further an empirical study was conducted, which consisted of two phases. The first phase was a case study on NMMU and Stellenbosch University. Structured-interviews, focus groups and observation were used to collect data from the cases. The collected data were then used to construct a questionnaire that was used for a survey. The survey was distributed to all 23 universities, 50 public FET colleges and the 200 private FET college. 92 institutions responded to the survey. The findings prove that there are various opportuntities and challenges in using social media although it should be stressed that the opportunities outweigh the threats. There is no visible difference between colleges social media implementation in relation to institutions of higher learning. Most institutions use more than one social media tool. Facebook is the most widely used social media followed by Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. Flickr, MXit, Google+ and Blog are the least used social media. The observations of the NMMU and Stellenbosch University show that these two institutions are striving to engage with their target audiences. Although the institutions are using social media, some of the concerns are that institutions are not measuring their social media use. For those who are measuring, most depend on the free measurement tools which focus only on the quantitative measure. The governance of the social media use is none existent. Most respondents stated that they do not have a policy or guidelines informing social media management. Most of the respondents felt that they want to use more social media tools in future although some of the challenges alluded to were lack of capacity, human resources and budget.
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- Date Issued: 2012
An investigation into factors that influence the results of Accounting (Education) 1 at the Technikon Free State
- Authors: Selesho, Jacob Mohlouwa
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Education, Higher
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:10785 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/133 , Education, Higher
- Description: Introduction : South Africa is currently engaged in wide-ranging consultations to formulate a new policy on education in line with the major structural changes currently taking place at the national level. The process has focused mainly on the previous government’s discriminatory policies, which were a cornerstone of apartheid. This research is not concerned so much with policy restructuring as with current pedagogical problems, which are a direct result of policy. During contact with students in different faculties at Technikon Free State over a period of nearly two to three years, made it clear that students experienced major learning problems especially in their first year. The research by Selaledi (1996: p8) seems to reflect one common origin which could be summed up as under-preparedness which, will leads to a high failure and drop-out rate among students. The higher education system is also beginning to respond to the changed social order as reflected, for example, in the changing demographic profile of students’ enrolment. However, the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the system is in doubt, as evidenced by a range of systematic problems (NPHE, 2001:p7-8). These include the overall quantity and quality of graduate research output. The contribution of the study will address aspects of the high failure rate as it has been outlined as a problem in the national plan for higher education. Large numbers of students who attend tertiary institutions are not able to deliver the academic standard of work expected from them. This often results in high failure in other subjects (Esterhuizen, 1995:p15). Technikon Free State declared certain subjects at risk and Accounting Education was included in the list. The high failure rate at tertiary institutions could be ascribed to the difference between the expectations of the lecturers and those of the students (NPHE, 2001:p7-9). Learners who take Accounting at high school spend five years doing the subject. This should give learners a solid grounding for future advanced studies in Accounting. However, according to Fridman (1987:p7-8) this, is not the case, as high school Accounting does not influence the result of first year Accounting. This study proposes to investigate the factors that influence the results of Accounting Education I at Technikon Free State. The study will also determine whether Grade 12 Accounting plays an important role in Accounting Education I results. The research findings may contribute towards a better understanding of the factors that influence academic performance in this field.
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- Date Issued: 2007
The integration of academic skills/support programmes into university department structures: a case study in the sociology of education
- Authors: Drewett, Michael
- Date: 1993
- Subjects: Education, Higher -- South Africa , Compensatory education -- South Africa , Education, Higher , Education -- Philosophy , Rhodes University. Academic Development Programme
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3327 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003115
- Description: This research focuses on the extent to which the Rhodes University Academic Skills Programme (ASP), now known as the Academic Development Programme, is able to act as an agent of progressive change within Rhodes University. In so doing it concentrates on the potential of the strategy of integrated academic development for dealing with the academic needs of university students within the context of South Africa as a society in transition. The candidate considers the inability of structuralist educational theory to account for the potential of human agency at the site of formal education. It is shown that structuralist theories provide deterministic and pessimistic accounts of the role of institutions of formal education. In support of this contention this study explores the history of ASP at Rhodes University, demonstrating that significant change in student academic development has already taken place. ASP has contributed to change within the said University through challenging traditional notions of academic development. This thesis suggests that the non-structuralist critical theory of Jurgen Habermas provides a more holistic account of ASP than do structuralist theories of formal education. Through the incorporation of Habermas's theory of communicative action a process of critical integration is explored, showing that a strategy of integrated academic development has the potential to involve all those who have an interest in university education through a process of rational discourse. This potential is strengthened by the fact that many students and staff have expressed an awareness of the need for an integrated academic development strategy. This thesis subsequently explores the possibility of there being a process of democratic and rational discourse which could lead to a progressive integration programme in the Rhodes University Department of Sociology and Industrial Sociology. This thesis stresses the contested nature of the integration process within departments. It is indicated that Habermas's critical theory is able to account for the changes which have taken place in the past and which are presently under way. It is argued that it not possible to predict future outcomes, but that if ASP pursues a process of rational discourse, it will indeed be able to stimulate a critical integrative approach to academic development in the Rhodes University Department of Sociology and Industrial Sociology.
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- Date Issued: 1993