South African Journal of Higher Education

Online career construction for a trauma survivor with career choice ambivalence

J. G. Maree — 2024-04-13

This article reports on the online administration of career construction counselling for a trauma survivor who sought help in resolving her career-choice ambivalence (uncertainty). The participant was purposively selected from a group of people attending a workshop on career construction counselling. An intrinsic, descriptive, exploratory intervention case study based on career construction counselling (involving administering the Career Construction Interview (CCI) to elicit the participant’s micro-narratives qualitatively) was used to generate data and adapted thematic data analysis incorporating the analytic style proposed by Savickas was used to analyse the data reflexively. The intervention shed light on the participant’s conscious knowledge about herself and on her subconsciously regulated views on her preferred future career choices. The findings confirmed the value of career construction counselling in promoting the participant’s psychological self as an autobiographical author especially. They also underlined the importance of timely intervention for trauma survivors in pre-empting the occurrence of unmastered developmental tasks and repetition of trauma. Future research should involve diverse participants in individual as well as group contexts. Equally important is contextualising the intervention discussed here to meet the distinctive diversity needs of participants in individual and group contexts.

Essential skills and strategies in higher education for the Fourth Industrial Revolution: A systematic literature review

O. S. Aboderin — 2024-04-13

The Fourth Industrial Revolution necessitates relevant initiatives to stay abreast. Higher education plays a pivotal role in providing nuanced opportunities for the future workforce and enabling students to address real-world problems in a complex world. Despite new developments, it is not clear how the Fourth Industrial Revolution will influence the educational sector. We followed a systematic review approach with the aim of providing a comprehensive view on crucial strategies and skills for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We applied the processes of Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre as a guideline for conducting the systematic review and retrieved relevant articles published from 2017 to 2021. The results highlight that critical thinking is the most emphasised skill and student-centred teaching-learning strategies are essential for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and future demands. Implications for self-directed learning were also outlined.

Creating a sense of “aliveness” in a SoTL CoP on a rural campus

E. Bernard — 2024-04-13

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), as a research-based inquiry into student learning, is a continuously evolving practice. SoTL, as a practice, guides academics in improving upon their teaching, which is based on their specific context and student cohort. However, since academics are ultimately specialists in their own fields, completing research based on higher education topics is most often unfamiliar territory; it can, however, be supported through SoTL communities of practice (CoPs). The principles of SoTL and of cultivating CoPs can play a key role in designing these CoPs for “aliveness”. In this action research study, feedback and outputs from the SoTL CoP members at a South African higher education institution indicate that to support researchers optimally, a flexible approach, embedded in an organised schedule and integrated with sound research practices, ensures a sense of “aliveness” for members that participate in the CoP.

Time to tame the tome: Motivating the thesis by publication as a mode of study for a PhD in the humanities

I. J. L. Connoway — 2024-04-13

Globally the PhD is recognized as the apex of all academic qualifications. For a large part of the qualification’s history, the only way to obtain it was by taking on the arduous journey of completing a dissertation. However, some changes in postgraduate education and the job market have led to a greater emphasis on published outputs and skills that can serve a lifetime of article writing. The PhD deserves all the prestige and rigour with which it is regarded, but these changes have left some asking whether the dissertation is the best way to drive the discipline and raise up researchers.

Obtaining a PhD via the Thesis by Publication (TBP) mode is a well-established practice in the STEM fields and Medicine. In these fields, research progresses fast and needs to be disseminated speedily. Therefore, it makes sense to write articles to disseminate research and then put them together to form a thesis.

With the above-mentioned changes in postgraduate education and the job market, the TBP is gaining ground in the humanities as well. What we propose in this article does not threaten the standards of the PhD. It might even better aid students in meeting them. If the desired outcomes are published outputs and research skills, then following a format that produces these outcomes during, rather than after, the completion of the PhD is advisable. In what follows we suggest that perhaps the time to tame the tome has now come.

The article starts with a brief survey of the history of doctoral education and a look at the current status of the TBP. After that, approaching the issue from various angles, we discuss why the TBP is a good idea. Lastly, we also warn that the TBP should be approached with caution.

Behind the scenes – Rigour of a Master’s clinical and counselling psychology degree selection process

R. Derwin — 2023-05-17

This article reports on the rigour of a selection process for master’s degree programmes in clinical and counselling psychology at an undisclosed university in South Africa over a six-year period (n=81). This was achieved by completing correlation and regression analyses between the six selection activities, the six course modules, and the course average in the student’s M1 year. Results showed significant positive regressions between the metaphors activity, child psychopathology, and theory of psychological interventions modules, between the research task and neuropsychology, between the psychopharmacology and psychopathology modules, and between the problem-solving activity and the course average. The case study activity negatively predicted the ethics and practical work and applied and community psychology modules. The conclusion was that the selection process can be considered valid, as the skills assessed for most of the selection activities positively correlated and predicted the skills required to succeed both academically in the M1 year and as a practising psychologist. However, the case study activity required further investigation, as the skills that are purportedly assessed should correlate and positively predict the ethics and practical work module, which was not the case. Future studies should also investigate the usefulness of interviews during this process.

“Our theatre is society”: Perceptions and practices of university-based African Centres of Excellence regarding community engagement and the third mission of higher education

B. Du Plooy — 2024-04-13

In the historical higher education (HE) context of early post-independence Africa, little was done to unpack or critique the dominant notion of African universities as “developmental” and to create workable models for the future. The resultant conflictual role of African universities, caught between the demands of academic excellence, on the one hand, and local demands of development and regional and communal impact, on the other, have not yet been adequately resolved. Conceptually and organisationally, “engagement”, “transfer” and “outreach” activities serve as mechanisms to bridge the divide between the traditional academy and the needs and expectations of societal stakeholders located outside of formal HE structures. This is now often referred to as the third mission (TM) of HE, the first and second missions being teaching and research. In recent years, many of the existing DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) African Centres of Excellence (ACE) have established partnerships and networks with actors from the political, social and economic sector to increase their relevance and impact in their regions, especially relating to Sustainable Development Goals. Against this backdrop, a qualitative exploratory study was conducted to determine the experiences and perceptions of participating representatives from ten ACE, located in their different and specific regional and societal contexts, about their university-society community engagement (CE) or TM activities. This article reports on the findings of this study, which contributes to the larger aims of identifying long-term synergies and collaboration potential and the development of conceptual models that are scalable. The findings of this study can form an adaptable basis for future TM-CE projects and for possible future research projects about such activities in HE.

In defence of African philosophy

M. T. Gumbo — 2024-04-13

The aim of this article is to defend African philosophy in its singularity, as opposed to African philosophies in its plurality. African philosophy argues that there are recognisable common traits among Africans, whereas African philosophies as a concept counters this notion, claiming that Africans hold different philosophies, hence generalising about them is impossible. The existence of African philosophy is a contested terrain sparked by colonialism. Failure to defend African philosophy is a recipe for perpetuating the thinking that African indigenes do not have a philosophy. There is also a risk that their worldview could be lost in globalisation and internationalisation. My reaction is mainly inspired by Davison (Davison, Z. 2022. African philosophy: A nebulous label for demeaning indigenous philosophies of people of Africa. Journal of Philosophy and Culture 10(1): 1–9), who refutes the notion of African philosophy but supports African philosophies. In this article, I draw from the existing literature on African philosophy mainly contributed by higher-education-based scholars, including those in the Diaspora. The concepts of philosophy and African are critical; I describe them to advance my argument. I then tackle critical issues surrounding African philosophy, such as the nebulousness of the concept, the historical-political and spatial-cultural connotations, and modernist and postmodernist lenses applied to Africans. Most importantly, I provide examples of common traits among Africans to support my defence of the concept. My conclusion is that African philosophy does exist and is defendable. The article contributes to the African philosophy versus African philosophies debate; this is also important for learning and conducting research about African philosophy in higher education. African scholars should not be blind to the commonalities identifiable in African worldviews that can be used to defend African philosophy.

Improving clinical nursing education in South of Iran 2016‒2021: A cooperative action research study

M. Hojat — 2024-01-10

Clinical education is a heart of education. The improvement of it is a challenge for every university. African countries like Iran are developing, especially in higher education. So the work context is almost the same. The present study was conducted to identify the clinical education challenges and improving it by a cooperative action research approach. This study was conducted from 2016 to 2021. The participants were 41 nurses and head nurses, 86 nursing students, and 26 nursing teachers. They worked through two cycles of reflection for 50 months. The data were collected and analyzed using the qualitative and quantitative methods. The findings of the qualitative data by 11 semi-structured interviews and ten focus group discussion revealed that the 8 sub-categories (lack of attention to the evaluation process, non-participatory evaluation, low-staff educational cooperation, ineffective trainer, non-educational clinical context, student educational disability, student drowning in bed, non-planning Participatory) and 3 main themes (planning challenges, implementing challenges and evaluation challenges) were obtained. After change in planning and implementation process, evaluation was done by a standard researcher made questionnaire according to the sub-categories of qualitative data. That showed satisfaction Improvement in 3 main themes in two cycle (planning, implementing, and evaluating). Reflection in every cycle caused change in planning, implementing and evaluating process. Moreover, it caused learning for all participants. These participants made a small change in the style of educational management from authoritarian to participatory. So, run programs introduced in this action research could be applicable for educational managers and policymakers.

The reshaping of curriculum transformation to address the 21st-century skill sets and employment prospects during the Fourth Industrial Revolution era: A case of the South Africa TVET colleges

N. Kana — 2024-04-13

This research explores the employability of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college graduates in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) era in South Africa. It examines the role of TVET lecturers in providing skills that are relevant to the contemporary period. The study uses qualitative research inspired by the interpretivist approach, and a purposive sampling strategy to get the perspectives of TVET lecturers and employers. It was observed that TVET lecturers play a minimal role in the development of the curriculum due to a rigid top-down approach from the Ministry of Higher Education. Companies are forming partnerships with TVET colleges by offering places for in-service training, practicals and internships. The study reveals that South African businesses have adopted 4IR-related technologies, requiring a skilled TVET force that is ready for these transformations. The findings highlight the need for regular curriculum transformation and the importance of TVET education in producing artisans, technologists and technicians that are vital for the South African economy on an ongoing basis.

Juggling access vs retention and academic performance: The experience of a lecturer teaching in an open, distance e-learning institution

S. G. le Roux — 2024-04-13

In response to the growing number of people requiring access to higher education, the student numbers at distance education institutions grew significantly over the last decade (Unisa 2013; 2020). Unfortunately, many students who enrol at open distance learning institutions are not ready for the demands of distance e-learning. More than half of students enrolled at the open distance learning institution where this study was done drop out and the reasons have been well researched (Joubert and Snyman 2018; Mashile, Fynn, and Matoane 2020).

It seems that universities’ responses to Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4.3 ‒ equal access to technical, vocational and higher education) (Unesco 2021) may unintentionally have created new vulnerabilities for the very group of people they have targeted for progress to end poverty, hunger and discrimination. As nearly a third of all students in South Africa are enrolled at Africa’s largest open distance learning institution (Unisa 2018), it becomes crucial not only to increase access, but simultaneously to prioritise student retention and academic performance.

This raises the question: How can and should lecturers teaching at distance-education institutions optimise the online teaching and learning environment in order to bridge the gap between access targets and academic performance targets? Following an autoethnographic research design, I share my own experiences of teaching two year-modules of the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) Foundation Phase programme offered via a continuous assessment (CA) approach. Two theoretical frameworks, namely the socio-critical model of Subotzky and Prinsloo (2011, 184), and Luna’s (2018) theory of layers of vulnerability guided my understanding of the challenges associated with distance learning as well as my research design.

My study reveals that the promise of CA does not always convert to optimal performance, and that contextual factors in distance education have a powerful impact on academic achievement despite the effort made by lecturers.

Not on my watch: (Re)clamations of my Tshimanda, my identity, my language

I. P. Mandende — 2024-04-13

The standardisation process of a language is always a polemic undertaking, and Tshivenḓa is no exception. This article explores the Tshivenḓa dialects and the standardisation process that this language went through. The importance of language as a primary resource for an individual, social identification, and also as a means of learning and communication, cannot be overemphasised. Moreover, when different language varieties come into contact, acculturation is inevitable, i.e., linguistic and cultural elements from both sides will diffuse and “contaminate” each other’s languages and culture. However, this phenomenon is not fully researched, especially among the Tshivenḓa dialects. The lexicographers and terminographers, who are tasked with the development and maintenance of the Tshivenḓa language, seem to be “trapped” in the colonial and apartheid era, i.e., of selecting and elevating one dialect over others to represent a language. Since 1994, the year of the dawn of a democratic dispensation in South Africa, this process has proceeded at a snail’s pace. In this study, a qualitative, ethnographic approach was adopted, and data were collected through telephonic interviews, where six participants were purposefully and conveniently sampled. The findings of this study may benefit speakers of Tshivenḓa, lexicographers, terminographers, and all language practitioners, teachers, and learners. When people value their language and heritage, use it often without prejudice or hesitancy, and practice their culture and traditions, their identity, history, dignity, and heritage become preserved. Tshivenḓa, at the official level, may have many lexical items in its endeavour to carry out its function as an official language in different domains.

Enabling and constraining causal powers for research and innovation in the South African higher education

M. Monnapula-Mapesela — 2024-04-13

This article highlights the critical importance of research and innovation in higher education, using South Africa (SA) as a case study. It analyses discourses that enable and constrain research and innovation. Margaret Archer’s social realist theory and stratified construct of structure, culture and agency is employed to understand various emerging transformation discourses exerting enabling or constraining causal powers for research and innovation. The interplay between structural, cultural, and agential milieus is investigated to better understand the urgency towards research and innovation. With this understanding, academics might locate their agency in the global and local contexts, create ideal conditions and build corporate agency for strengthening research and innovation. Universities with limited resources, should not reinvent what already exists, but should responsibly borrow key aspects that would thrive in their own contexts. However, it must be cautioned that no system of the world can exist as an end without deficits and flaws.

Towards a model for incorporating peace education in South African higher education

N. D. Ndwandwe — 2024-04-13

Peace education is the basis for global peace and a prerequisite for attaining sustainable development and global goals. Considering the widespread physical and structural violence and destructive protests across South African higher education, it is crucial to embrace peace education to deal with violence in all its forms. This article explores the need for peace education in the South African higher education curriculum. A qualitative critical review of the literature reveals widespread gender-based violence, sexual exploitation, destructive student protests at and the militarisation of universities through military force to quell violent student protests nationwide in South Africa. Lack of peace skills indicates that both lecturers, university management and students are in need peace education. Peace education must be incorporated in South African higher education. As part of a model for it, this article recommends the establishment of peace as a stand-alone subject, extra-curricular activities for peace and storytelling to deliver peace education and inculcate a culture of peace in both educators and students. More so, there is a need to embrace the pedagogy of peace education and establish institutes for peace and conflict resolution at every higher education institution in South Africa.

Reflection of experiences with academic supervisors, supervisees and issues of power

O. I. Odularu — 2024-04-13

Academic supervision is essential for developing students’ careers and educational advancement. The systematic review approach was chosen for the methodology of this study. It has been observed in the literature that there are positive and negative experiences between supervisees and their supervisors. This led to the research gap in the study, which stated that supervisors and their supervisees are inadequately prepared for their roles. The study addressed these gaps through a systematic review of the article sub-topics. The conceptual model was adopted for this article, and it articulates how supervisors can exhibit their dispositional qualities. Additionally, this article recommends enhancing creative and innovative research to intensify a sense of autonomy and periodically updating research instructions on actualising the vision and mission statements of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs). The study further recommends that training initiatives for supervisors should be encouraged in HEIs through academic research groups, among others.

Reflections and experiences of mentors, tutors and writing consultants on enhancing student Learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

F. Ravhuhali — 2024-04-13

The experiences of mentors, tutors, and writing consultants in the execution of their roles during unprecedented times, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic, remain insufficiently explored and inadequately documented. This article, which adopts a qualitative research methodology with a specific focus on a rural-based comprehensive university in South Africa, delves into the experiences and reflections of mentors, tutors, and writing consultants in the course of their duties during the COVID-19 pandemic. We contend that providing safe spaces for mentors, tutors and writing practitioners to share their experiences on their roles not only during the pandemic should be central to all student support initiatives. This fosters a sense of reflection on their practices which in turn results in professional growth and development as reflective practitioners capable of enhancing student success in higher education. In assessing their work, data was gathered from a population comprising seventy-two selected mentors and tutors (referred to as MenTuts), as well as writing consultants affiliated with the Academic Development Unit (ADU) of the institution. Content and thematic analysis were employed to examine the data after coding. The reflections and experiences of MenTuts and writing consultants were both positive and negative. They expressed enthusiasm for their roles during the COVID-19 pandemic but also conveyed feelings of being overwhelmed by the challenges they faced. This underscores the need for exploring alternative approaches to mentoring, tutoring, and writing consultancy to enhance effective student learning and success in higher education during both present and future unprecedented times. Given the plethora of recent unprecedented events, higher education institutions in South Africa as well as in Africa should start undertaking innovative radical approaches for student support initiatives that are centred around engaging with mentors, tutors, and writing consultants to ensure that they are able to reflect on their experiences to enhance student learning.

Aspirant South African accountants’ perceptions of the usefulness of a research project as a learning tool to develop professional competency

R. Rudman — 2024-04-13

The current business climate has been described as being volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA). This new world paradigm requires new skill sets. Professional bodies are responding to changes created by this new-world paradigm that university graduates will enter with revised competency frameworks that focus on business, digital, relational, and decision-making acumen (SAICA 2021b) and include both professional (i.e., non-technical) and technical skills. Historically, accounting departments that trained chartered accountants focused on developing technical competencies in students and did not have a tradition of research. Accounting departments are investigating various teaching initiatives or tools to help develop non-technical skills in response to the changing work environment and to comply with the updated Competency Framework. Research projects, where students must formulate and investigate an unstructured question and present their findings, are used globally as a tool to develop professional competencies; however, there is limited application of research projects in the training of aspirant chartered accountants in South Africa. The 2020 cohort of postgraduate accounting students at a South African university provided a unique opportunity to investigate students’ perceptions of professional skills competency development through a group research project as very few had prior experience in conducting research. This study documents students’ perceptions of the use of the research project as a learning tool to develop specific professional competencies not traditionally taught and assessed. Although students found the research challenging, they believed that it supported the professional competency development required of future graduates that was not previously addressed appropriately.

Developing a customised learning design tool in support of curriculum design, professional development and institutional management within a South African military education context

K. van der Merwe — 2024-04-13

Learning design at tertiary level is a challenging and complex task with many aspects to take into consideration (Bennett, Lockyer, Agostinho 2018; Bower and Vlachopoulos 2018, 975; Bates, 2019). Learning design is identified as a core aspect of a tertiary educator’s role, but often, little guidance is given to educators on this topic. Changes in the higher education landscape also bring about questions about ideal learning design. With changing times that require institutions to introduce other models like blended and online learning, more pedagogical guidance might be necessary to advise lecturers on best practices in terms of module design (Kebritchi, Lipschuetz, and Santiague 2017). To aid learning design thinking and to make the pedagogic structure of the design apparent, Laurillard and Ljubojevic (2011) and others have suggested the use of a learning design tool or aid. A learning design tool is a means which can provide analytical support for lecturers to evaluate their own practices (Bower et al. 2011). This study looks at the creation of a customised learning design tool (CLDT) and discusses whether it can serve as an Electronic Performance Support System, which is a tool that can guide and assist users in their roles in the workplace. This case study canvassed the experiences and opinions of faculty members in Military Education on the use of this CLDT. The tool is designed to capture and depict various features of a module’s design. This study made use of design-based research which is a methodology requiring a phased approach and aims to influence practice. Inputs from the participants revealed the perceived value and benefits along with the necessary amendments needed for the tool.