Widening student access and participation in Allied Health Sciences: A critical reflection

  • B.O. Ige University of Cape Town
  • S.L. Amosun University of Cape Town
  • N. Hartman University of Cape Town

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Widening of access and participation has become a paramount agenda for Allied Health Sciences education in South Africa. In response to the need the Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town introduced the Intervention Programme (IP) in 2009 as a strategy for widening of access and participation student. This study reflects on the design and implementation of IP, the complexities of the diversity of students entering the IP, and the implications for curriculum restructuring in the first year of study and beyond. The authors drew on Mezirow’s (1990) theory of transformative learning to explain the multifaceted challenges encountered through our own reflection as programme designers and facilitators, as well as organisers of and participants in curricular reviews using data from student interviews, student performance in first and subsequent years of study, and review documentation. The study shows that curriculum restructuring for a diversifying student body across multiple programmes is a complex process with interrelated and influential factors. Our critical reflections revealed the complexities of aligning intentions that are significantly flawed by presuppositions relating needs and outcomes.

Author Biographies

B.O. Ige, University of Cape Town
Department of Health Science Education - senior lecturer.
S.L. Amosun, University of Cape Town
Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences - Professor, Acting head of department
N. Hartman, University of Cape Town
Department of Health Science Education - (Dr) Chair of postgrduate committee

References

References

Akooje, S. & Nkomo, M. 2007 Access and quality in South Africa higher education: the twin challenges of transformation. South African Journal of Higher Education, 21(3): 385-399.

Amos, T.L., & Fischer, S. 1998. Understanding and responding to student learning difficulties within higher education context: a theoretical foundation for developing academic literacy. South African Journal of Higher Education, 12(2): 17-23.

Amosun, S.L., Hartman, N., van Rensburg, V.J., Duncan, E.M., & Badenhorst, E. 2012. Processes in widening access to undergraduate Allied Health Sciences education in South Africa. African Journal of Health Professions Education, 4(1): 34-39.

Badat, S. 2010. The challenges of transformation in Higher Education and Training Institutions in South Africa. Paper commissioned by the Development Bank of Southern Africa. http://www.dhet.gov.za/summit/Docs/2010Docs

Badenhorst, E., & Kapp, R. 2013. Negotiation of learning and identity among first-year medical students. Teaching in Higher Education,10.1080/13562517.2012.753050.

Biggs, J.B. 1996. Enhancing Teaching through Constructive Alignment. Higher Education, 32: 1–18.

Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J.C. 1977. Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture London and Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.

Bourdieu, P., & Wacquant, L. 1992. An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology, Chicago: Chicago: University Press.

Bowie, L., & Frith, V. 2006. Concerns about the South African Mathematical Literacy curriculum arising from experience of materials development. Pythagoras, 64: 29-36.

Bozorgmehr, K., Narayan, L., & Radhakrishna, R. 2011. Transforming health professionals’ education. Lancet 377(9773): 1237.

Brinkworth, R., McCann, B., Matthews, C., & Nordstrom, K. 2009. First year expectations and experiences: Student and teacher perceptions. Higher Education, 58(2): 157-173.

Brookfield, S. 2003. Putting the critical back in critical pedagogy: A commentary on the path of dissent. Journal of Transformative Education, 1, 141-149.

Brookfield, S. 2009. The concept of critical reflection: promises and contradictions. European Journal of Social Work, 12(3): 293-304.

Bush, T., Joubert, R., Kiggundu, E., & van Rooyen, J. 2010. Managing teaching and learning in South African schools. International Journal of Educational Development, 30: 162-168.

Bustillos, L.T. 2012. Re-thinking remedial education: The role of MSIs in serving under-prepared students in the 21st century. Rethinking Remedial Education, http://files.eric.ed.gov.

Council on Higher Education. A proposal for undergraduate curriculum reform in South Africa: The case for a flexible curriculum structure. Report of the task team on undergraduate curriculum structure. Council on Higher Education, Pretoria, 2013.

Calkins, S., & Seidler, A. 2011. Faculty perceptions of relevance in teaching and learning. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 24(2): 215-225.

Crisp, G.T., Palmer, E.J., Turnbull, G.A., Nettelbeck, T., Ward, L, LeCouteur, A, Sarris, A, Strelan, P., & Schneider, L. 2009. First year student expectations: results from a university wide survey. Journal of University Teaching and Practice 6 (1) p 11-26.

Ehrmann, S. C. (March/April 1995). "Asking the Right Questions." Change, 20-28.

Ekong, D. and Cloete, N. (2012) Curriculum Responses to a changing National and Global Environment in an African Context in Knowledge, Identity and Curriculum Transformation in Africa

Fraser, W., & Killen, R. 2005. The perceptions of students and lecturers of some factors influencing academic performance at two South African universities. Perspective in Education, 23(1): 25-40.

Hartman, N., Kathard, H., Perez, G., Reid, S., Irlam, J., Gunston, G., Janse van Rensburg V, Burch V, Duncan M, Hellenberg D, van Rooyen I, Smouse M, Sikakana C, Badenhorst E, Ige B. 2012. Health Sciences undergraduate education at the University of Cape Town: A story of transformation. South African Medical Journal, 102(6): 477-480.

Horstmanshof L., & Zimitat C. 2003. Elaboration of the student self and persistence in higher education. In, Educational Research: Risks and Dilemmas: NZARE/AARE Conference 29 November-3 December. Auckland: New Zealand Association of Research in Education.

House, J. 2000. Understanding Misunderstanding: A Pragmatic-discourse Approach to Analyzing Mismanaged Rapport in Talk across Cultures. In H. Spencer-Oatey (ed.), Culturally Speaking – Managing Rapport through Talk across Cultures (pp.146-164). London: Continuum.

Jackson, L., Meyer, W., & Parkinson, J. 2006. A study of the writing tasks and reading assigned to undergraduate science students at a South African University. English for Specific Purposes, 25(3): 260-281

Jansen, J.D. 1998. Curriculum reform in South Africa: a critical analysis of outcomes-based education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 28(3): 321-331.

Kang’ethe, S.M., & Muhuro, P. 2014. Exploring hurdles associated with the orientation of freshmen in the institutions of higher learning: The case of two former black universities in South Africa. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(23): 1242-1250.

Kember, D., Ho, A., & Hong, C. 2008. The importance of establishing relevance in motivating student learning. Active Learning in Higher Education, 9(3): 249-262.

Kinnear, A., Boyce, M., Sparrow, H., Middleton, S., & Cullity, M. 2008. Diversity: A longitudinal study of how student diversity relates to resilience and successful progression in a new generation university. Perth, Australia: Australian Learning and Research Council.

Lantolf, J. P. (2000) Introducing Sociocultural Theory. In Lantolf, J. P. (ed.). Sociocultural Theory of Second Language Learning” (1-26). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Larrivee, B. 2000. Transforming teaching practice: becoming the critically reflective teacher. Reflective Practice, 1(3): 293-307.

Lave, J., & Wenger, E. 1991. Situated Learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Leijen, A., Valtna, K., Leijen, D.A.J., & Pedaste, M. 2012. How to determine the quality of students’ reflections? Studies in Higher Education, 37(2): 203-217.

Mezirow, J.A. 1990. Fostering Critical Reflection in Adulthood: A Guide to Transformative and Emancipatory Learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Mezirow, J. A. 1995. Transformation theory of adult learning. In M. Welton (Ed.), In defence of the lifeworld. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Mezirow, J.A. 1997. Transformative learning: Theory to practice. New Direction for Adult and Continuing Education, 74:5-12.

Mouton, N., Louw, G.P., & Strydom, D.L. 2012, Historical analysis of the post-apartheid dispensation education in South Africa (1994-2011). International Business and Economics Research Journal, 11(11): 1211-1222.

Muddiman, A., & Frymier, A.B. 2009. What is relevant? Student perceptions of relevance strategies in college classrooms. Communication Studies, 60(2): 130-146.

Parker, S., Naylor, P., & Warmington, P. 2005. Widening participation in higher education: What can we learn from the ideologies and practices of committed practitioners? Journal of Access Policy and Practice, 2(2): 140-160.

Patton, N., Higgs, J., & Smith, M. 2013. Using theories of learning in workplaces to enhance physiotherapy clinical education. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 29(7): 493-503.

Petersen, I., Louw, J., & Dumont, K. 2009. Adjustment to university and academic performance among disadvantaged students in South Africa. Educational Psychology: An International Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology, 29(1): 99-115.

Sikakana, C.N.T. 2010. Faculty and student support: Supporting student-doctors from under-resourced educational backgrounds: an academic development programme. Medical Education, 44(9): 917-925.

Smit, R. 2012. Towards a clearer understanding of student disadvantage in higher education: problematising deficit thinking. Higher Education Research and Development, 31(3): 369-380.

Soudien, C., & Baxen, J. 1997. Transformation and outcome-based education in South Africa: Opportunities and challenges. Journal of Negro Education, 66(4): 449-459.

Struyven, K., Dochy, F., & Janssens, S. 2005 Students’ perceptions about evaluation and assessment in higher education: a review. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 30(4): 325-341

Thomas L. 2010. Student Retention in Higher Education: Role of Institutional Habitus. Journal of Education Policy, 7 (4) 423-442.

Tinto, V. 1975. Dropout from higher education: A Theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research, 45 (1) 89-125.

Todd, A., & Mason, M. 2005. Enhancing learning in South African schools: strategies beyond outcomes-based education. International Journal of Educational Development, 25: 221-235.

Van der Westhuizen, G.L. 2007. Evaluations of higher education transformation in South Africa. South African Journal of Higher Education, 21(3):552-569.

Van Heerden, B. 2013. Effectively addressing the health needs of South Africa’s population: The role of health professions education in the 21st century. South African Medical Journal, 103(1):21-22.

Voogt, J., Westbroek, H., Handelzalts, A., Walraven, A., McKenney, S., Pieters, J., & de Vries, B. 2011. Teacher learning in collaborative curriculum design. Teacher and Teacher Education, 27: 1235-1244.

Vygotsky, L.S.1978. Interaction between learning and development (M. Lopez-Morillas, Trans.). In M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman (Eds.), Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (pp. 79-91). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Wawrzynski, M.R., Heck, A.M., & Remley, C.T. 2012. Student engagement in South African higher education. Journal of College Education Development, 53(1): 106-123.

Warren, D. 2002. Curriculum design in a context of widening participation in higher education. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 1(1): 85-99.

Wenger, E. 1998. Communities of Practice. Learning as a social system; Systems Thinker, http://www.co-i-l.com/coil/knowledge-garden/cop/lss.shtml. Accessed December 30, 2012.

Wilson, A. 2004. When contextualization cues mislead: Misunderstanding, mutual knowledge, and non-verbal gestures. California Linguistic Notes 29(1). http://hss.fullerton.edu/linguistics/CLN/04S%20articles/wilson-ambiv-nvc.pdf

Wilson, D. & Sperber, D. 1985. On choosing the context for utterance interpretation; In Allwood, J. & Hjemquist, E. (eds) Foregrounding Background. (Doxa) 51-64

Wilson-Strydom, M. 2011. University access for social justice: a capabilities perspective. South African Journal of Education, 31(3): 407-418.

Published
2017-09-25
How to Cite
Ige, B.O., S.L. Amosun, and N. Hartman. 2017. “Widening Student Access and Participation in Allied Health Sciences: A Critical Reflection”. South African Journal of Higher Education 31 (5), 65-89. https://doi.org/10.20853/31-5-1554.
Section
General Articles