The study aimed to investigate Ethiopian university lecturers’ readiness to use technology for teaching mathematics at the tertiary level during the COVID-19 pandemic when they were compelled to adapt to distant education. Using Google Forms, online questionnaires were distributed to 41 lecturers in three Ethiopian universities, of whom eighteen participated. Before the research, the questionnaire was piloted with eight lecturer participants to categorise questions and validate the instrument using the Rasch measurement model. The questionnaire was locally developed based on guidelines from the literature. It purposed to investigate university lecturers’ individual preparedness for technological instruction in terms of their knowledge, beliefs and current, and historical exposure to this mode of instruction. As a counterbalance, some circumstantial factors influencing their readiness were investigated too. Lecturers’ optimistic beliefs about using educational technologies have been found to contrast with some disabling circumstantial factors. This study revealed that the lecturers were generally able and interested in integrating technology into the teaching process but that barriers, primarily at the institutional level, hindered them from doing so. In addition to the technologies suggested in the questionnaire, participants enriched the research findings by adding more possible technologies that lecturers may use for educational purposes. The data was analysed using WINSTEPS (Student Version of WINSTEPS 4.7.0.0) and SPSS version 20. The results showed the reliability of using the instrument was 0.77 based on Cronbach’s alpha. The PT-measure correlation value determined the construct validity (PMC), ranging from 0.23 to 0.71 except item PUT15’s infit and outfit MNSQ between 0.1 to 1.86 and ZSTD range -1.05 to 1.61, which was acceptable. The fit statistics showed that the person separation index, 1.97, was considered good and that the item separation index, 0.63 was within an acceptable range. Person and item reliability were at 0.8 and 0.28, respectively. The result indicated that the new instrument with five items after eliminating unfit items (such as items FAT19, PTT10, KDT1, PTT8 and PTT 12) was reliable and valid to measure the use of technology in the teaching and learning process of the university lecturers.
{"title":"University lecturers’ preparedness to use technology in teacher training of mathematics during COVID-19: The case of Ethiopia","authors":"F. Machaba, T. Bedada","doi":"10.20853/36-3-4560","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-3-4560","url":null,"abstract":"The study aimed to investigate Ethiopian university lecturers’ readiness to use technology for teaching mathematics at the tertiary level during the COVID-19 pandemic when they were compelled to adapt to distant education. Using Google Forms, online questionnaires were distributed to 41 lecturers in three Ethiopian universities, of whom eighteen participated. Before the research, the questionnaire was piloted with eight lecturer participants to categorise questions and validate the instrument using the Rasch measurement model. The questionnaire was locally developed based on guidelines from the literature. It purposed to investigate university lecturers’ individual preparedness for technological instruction in terms of their knowledge, beliefs and current, and historical exposure to this mode of instruction. As a counterbalance, some circumstantial factors influencing their readiness were investigated too. Lecturers’ optimistic beliefs about using educational technologies have been found to contrast with some disabling circumstantial factors. This study revealed that the lecturers were generally able and interested in integrating technology into the teaching process but that barriers, primarily at the institutional level, hindered them from doing so. In addition to the technologies suggested in the questionnaire, participants enriched the research findings by adding more possible technologies that lecturers may use for educational purposes. The data was analysed using WINSTEPS (Student Version of WINSTEPS 4.7.0.0) and SPSS version 20. The results showed the reliability of using the instrument was 0.77 based on Cronbach’s alpha. The PT-measure correlation value determined the construct validity (PMC), ranging from 0.23 to 0.71 except item PUT15’s infit and outfit MNSQ between 0.1 to 1.86 and ZSTD range -1.05 to 1.61, which was acceptable. The fit statistics showed that the person separation index, 1.97, was considered good and that the item separation index, 0.63 was within an acceptable range. Person and item reliability were at 0.8 and 0.28, respectively. The result indicated that the new instrument with five items after eliminating unfit items (such as items FAT19, PTT10, KDT1, PTT8 and PTT 12) was reliable and valid to measure the use of technology in the teaching and learning process of the university lecturers.","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67714512","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
TVET colleges in South Africa are primarily tasked with preparing students for the workplace. However, employers noted dissatisfaction in the skills and abilities of students entering the workplace. A possible reason for the poor preparation of students may have been found in past research. The curriculum at TVET colleges, as elsewhere in higher education, is very Eurocentric and theoretical in nature. The need for decolonisation of the curriculum thus arises. A decolonized curriculum prepares students to work in a variety of social contexts and considers issues like poverty, inequality and unemployment. A decolonized curriculum needs to include content and context derived from local sources, and need to connect theory with practice. It is thus expected of TVET lecturers to interpret and link theoretical content from the curriculum to the needs of local sources, workplaces and industry. TVET lecturers thus need to have knowledge and experiences from a variety of backgrounds. Past research indicated certain lecturers lack workplace experience and qualifications. It was found that intermediate and FET (grade 10‒11) qualified teachers and graduates from universities who lack workplace experience are employed at TVET colleges. Lecturers who lack workplace experience may find it difficult to link content with the needs of the industry for which they have to prepare their students and may not know how to link theory with practice during lessons. Teaching and learning at TVET colleges require concrete experiences and deliberate encounters. Actual, concrete experiences change the perspectives of students and lecturers and affects them profoundly, which can be seen as a pedagogic piligrimage (Davids and Waghid 2019, 7). To address the latter, SSACI, a Swiss-South African initiative launched a work-integrated learning (WIL) project to identify lecturers that are only equipped with a teaching qualification and lack workplace experience. The work-integrated learning program flared up lecturer’s experience of work-integrated learning and increased motivation and enthusiasm, as they were able to integrate the examples learned from the workplace, to make lessons and lesson preparation more interesting. In addition, lecturers were able to tell students what to expect after graduation when they enter the workplace. A factor that negatively influences the effectiveness of work-integrated learning is the lack of policy supporting the program.
{"title":"Work-Integrated Learning for lecturers at a TVET college in the Western Cape","authors":"Oosthuizen L. J., S. J., Chigano A.","doi":"10.20853/36-3-4689","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-3-4689","url":null,"abstract":"TVET colleges in South Africa are primarily tasked with preparing students for the workplace. However, employers noted dissatisfaction in the skills and abilities of students entering the workplace. A possible reason for the poor preparation of students may have been found in past research. The curriculum at TVET colleges, as elsewhere in higher education, is very Eurocentric and theoretical in nature. The need for decolonisation of the curriculum thus arises. A decolonized curriculum prepares students to work in a variety of social contexts and considers issues like poverty, inequality and unemployment. A decolonized curriculum needs to include content and context derived from local sources, and need to connect theory with practice. It is thus expected of TVET lecturers to interpret and link theoretical content from the curriculum to the needs of local sources, workplaces and industry. TVET lecturers thus need to have knowledge and experiences from a variety of backgrounds. Past research indicated certain lecturers lack workplace experience and qualifications. It was found that intermediate and FET (grade 10‒11) qualified teachers and graduates from universities who lack workplace experience are employed at TVET colleges. Lecturers who lack workplace experience may find it difficult to link content with the needs of the industry for which they have to prepare their students and may not know how to link theory with practice during lessons. Teaching and learning at TVET colleges require concrete experiences and deliberate encounters. Actual, concrete experiences change the perspectives of students and lecturers and affects them profoundly, which can be seen as a pedagogic piligrimage (Davids and Waghid 2019, 7). To address the latter, SSACI, a Swiss-South African initiative launched a work-integrated learning (WIL) project to identify lecturers that are only equipped with a teaching qualification and lack workplace experience. The work-integrated learning program flared up lecturer’s experience of work-integrated learning and increased motivation and enthusiasm, as they were able to integrate the examples learned from the workplace, to make lessons and lesson preparation more interesting. In addition, lecturers were able to tell students what to expect after graduation when they enter the workplace. A factor that negatively influences the effectiveness of work-integrated learning is the lack of policy supporting the program.","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67714677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The South African (SA) higher education sector continues to battle high attrition rates. Helping students gain a sense of belonging while at university and creating an environment where students feel cared for can enhance their prospects of success. Academic advising is a high-impact practice with the potential to enhance student belonging and success. This article proposes intentionally linking Tronto’s Ethic of Care (EoC) and academic advising for SA higher education contexts. The author argues that the dimensions of Tronto’s EoC (attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness) are relevant to the work of SA advisors. These dimensions are used as a framework for analysing interview data collected from 15 academic advisors from one university. The findings suggest that elements of Tronto’s EoC are present in the advisors’ work, though not explicitly. The author argues that integrating EoC and advising more intentionally in SA higher education contexts, could enable a greater sense of belonging for students. Keywords: academic advising, belonging, care, caring, ethic of care, higher education, South Africa, student advising, student success
{"title":"Academic advising and ethic of care: Enabling belonging to enhance higher education students’ prospects of success","authors":"D. De Klerk","doi":"10.20853/36-6-5485","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-6-5485","url":null,"abstract":"The South African (SA) higher education sector continues to battle high attrition rates. Helping students gain a sense of belonging while at university and creating an environment where students feel cared for can enhance their prospects of success. Academic advising is a high-impact practice with the potential to enhance student belonging and success. This article proposes intentionally linking Tronto’s Ethic of Care (EoC) and academic advising for SA higher education contexts. The author argues that the dimensions of Tronto’s EoC (attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness) are relevant to the work of SA advisors. These dimensions are used as a framework for analysing interview data collected from 15 academic advisors from one university. The findings suggest that elements of Tronto’s EoC are present in the advisors’ work, though not explicitly. The author argues that integrating EoC and advising more intentionally in SA higher education contexts, could enable a greater sense of belonging for students. Keywords: academic advising, belonging, care, caring, ethic of care, higher education, South Africa, student advising, student success","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67714880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S. Blignaut, G. Pheiffer, A. Visser, L. le Grange, S. Maistry, L. Ramrathan, S. Simmonds
Sense of belonging, perceived stress and wellbeing are reported factors that influence students’ university experience and learning. The COVID-19 pandemic and shift to online emergency remote teaching were likely to exacerbate these affective dimensions of student experience. This article employed a quantitative survey research design to determine how students’ sense of belonging, perceived stress and wellbeing were influenced during the pandemic. An online questionnaire was administered to 537 South African students at one residential university. Data analysis was performed using multiple regression analysis. The results indicated that platform pedagogy was a significant predictor of belonging, perceived stress, and wellbeing, while lecturers’ pedagogical competence was not. Lived learning experience of online learning was a significant predictor of perceived stress, and communication was a significant predictor of belonging. The importance of the learning environment in student belonging and wellbeing is key to student success and this study provides insights for developing targeted interventions. Keywords: university students, sense of belonging, perceived stress, wellbeing, platform pedagogy
{"title":"Belonging, wellbeing and stress with online learning during COVID-19","authors":"S. Blignaut, G. Pheiffer, A. Visser, L. le Grange, S. Maistry, L. Ramrathan, S. Simmonds","doi":"10.20853/36-6-5525","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-6-5525","url":null,"abstract":"Sense of belonging, perceived stress and wellbeing are reported factors that influence students’ university experience and learning. The COVID-19 pandemic and shift to online emergency remote teaching were likely to exacerbate these affective dimensions of student experience. This article employed a quantitative survey research design to determine how students’ sense of belonging, perceived stress and wellbeing were influenced during the pandemic. An online questionnaire was administered to 537 South African students at one residential university. Data analysis was performed using multiple regression analysis. The results indicated that platform pedagogy was a significant predictor of belonging, perceived stress, and wellbeing, while lecturers’ pedagogical competence was not. Lived learning experience of online learning was a significant predictor of perceived stress, and communication was a significant predictor of belonging. The importance of the learning environment in student belonging and wellbeing is key to student success and this study provides insights for developing targeted interventions. Keywords: university students, sense of belonging, perceived stress, wellbeing, platform pedagogy","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67715529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The aim of this research is to examine the developmental trajectory of students’ leadership. The developmental trajectory of student leadership is dependent upon several interacting theoretical foundations such as developmental, transformational and transactional approaches to leadership. All these approaches are specific and interactional which makes them feasible choices for the theoretical foundation about students’ leadership. Using a qualitative research approach and drawing on interviews conducted with students’ leaders of the University College Cork in Ireland, the results indicated that students’ leaders are very much influenced in their choices and actions by considerations for their future, and the development of skills and experiences that will provide personal and organisational benefit to those involved. Whilst leadership styles at this stage of their development seemed to be in a state of flux and had not been fully honed within students’ leaders, there were notable findings relating to the importance of them to be mentored by experienced leaders from their institution. Keywords: students, leadership, students' leadership, higher education
{"title":"Exploring the developmental trajectory of becoming a student leader: Developmental, transformational and transactional approaches to leadership","authors":"N. C. Sokhela, P. B. B. Murhula","doi":"10.20853/36-5-4533","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-5-4533","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this research is to examine the developmental trajectory of students’ leadership. The developmental trajectory of student leadership is dependent upon several interacting theoretical foundations such as developmental, transformational and transactional approaches to leadership. All these approaches are specific and interactional which makes them feasible choices for the theoretical foundation about students’ leadership. Using a qualitative research approach and drawing on interviews conducted with students’ leaders of the University College Cork in Ireland, the results indicated that students’ leaders are very much influenced in their choices and actions by considerations for their future, and the development of skills and experiences that will provide personal and organisational benefit to those involved. Whilst leadership styles at this stage of their development seemed to be in a state of flux and had not been fully honed within students’ leaders, there were notable findings relating to the importance of them to be mentored by experienced leaders from their institution. Keywords: students, leadership, students' leadership, higher education","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67715212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Academics should produce quality scholarly research. However, the demands of the marketised, neoliberal higher education institution and the increase in the academic’s bureaucratic and administrative tasks do not allow for adequate engagement with the deep work and slow forms of scholarship that are needed to produce cutting-edge and insightful research. Many academics find it challenging to think critically and creatively under such conditions, yet they are unwilling to fill their time with shallow work instead. Thus, they are torn between producing an institutionally-determined number of research outputs, and striving towards producing quality scholarly work that advances knowledge in the academic’s discipline. Reading groups serve to rework this tension by providing a communal and scheduled place and mind-space for reading major academic works. Reading takes time and persistence. We find that setting aside time and creating creative spaces for reading groups offer an opportunity for silent revolt against the pressures of the higher education institution. In this (post)qualitative inquiry we diffractively read – “through one another” – two autoethnographical accounts to experiment with our experiences of various reading groups over a period of three years while positioning ourselves in relation to Barad’s notion of diffraction. This speculative experimentation entails a myriad of ideas and methods that serve to decentre hegemonic, monolithic knowledge systems through seeking alternative ways of knowing, and recognises the importance of the entanglement of matter and meaning in tracing (and countering) the social relations produced in neoliberalist contexts. Such (re)thinking is thus a vital counterpoint to the neoliberal obsessions of the higher education context, (re)directing the scholar to new non-autonomous and mutable landscapes.
{"title":"Why Read (Diffractively)?","authors":"P. Du Preez, J. du Toit","doi":"10.20853/36-1-4837","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-1-4837","url":null,"abstract":"Academics should produce quality scholarly research. However, the demands of the marketised, neoliberal higher education institution and the increase in the academic’s bureaucratic and administrative tasks do not allow for adequate engagement with the deep work and slow forms of scholarship that are needed to produce cutting-edge and insightful research. Many academics find it challenging to think critically and creatively under such conditions, yet they are unwilling to fill their time with shallow work instead. Thus, they are torn between producing an institutionally-determined number of research outputs, and striving towards producing quality scholarly work that advances knowledge in the academic’s discipline. Reading groups serve to rework this tension by providing a communal and scheduled place and mind-space for reading major academic works. Reading takes time and persistence. We find that setting aside time and creating creative spaces for reading groups offer an opportunity for silent revolt against the pressures of the higher education institution. In this (post)qualitative inquiry we diffractively read – “through one another” – two autoethnographical accounts to experiment with our experiences of various reading groups over a period of three years while positioning ourselves in relation to Barad’s notion of diffraction. This speculative experimentation entails a myriad of ideas and methods that serve to decentre hegemonic, monolithic knowledge systems through seeking alternative ways of knowing, and recognises the importance of the entanglement of matter and meaning in tracing (and countering) the social relations produced in neoliberalist contexts. Such (re)thinking is thus a vital counterpoint to the neoliberal obsessions of the higher education context, (re)directing the scholar to new non-autonomous and mutable landscapes.","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67713791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The primary objective of this study was to investigate the self-perceived competencies acquired by humanities graduates at a South African university. This self-assessment enables graduates to assess their strengths and weaknesses regarding their competencies and estimate their employability. The secondary objective was to measure the employment status of humanities graduates. The study followed a quantitative approach using a cross-sectional survey design. The convenience sampling method was used since the self-administered questionnaire was distributed to graduates at two graduation ceremonies. Independent samples t-tests were done to compare the mean scores on the six dimensions of the competencies scale between gender, schools and degrees. Chi-square tests were done to establish whether there are associations between gender, faculty schools, degrees and employment status. Spearman rank-order correlation was performed to measure the correlations between the six factors of the competencies scale. The six individual competencies that scored the highest means were: “(1) tolerance, appreciation of different points of view, (2) written communication skills, (3) critical thinking, (4) English language proficiency, (5) working in a team, and (6) taking responsibility for decisions”. A follow-up study should be done among employers to determine what competencies they require from humanities graduates.
{"title":"Investigating the self-perceived acquired competencies of humanities graduates at a South African university","authors":"P. A. Botha, A. Botha","doi":"10.20853/36-2-4170","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-2-4170","url":null,"abstract":"The primary objective of this study was to investigate the self-perceived competencies acquired by humanities graduates at a South African university. This self-assessment enables graduates to assess their strengths and weaknesses regarding their competencies and estimate their employability. The secondary objective was to measure the employment status of humanities graduates. The study followed a quantitative approach using a cross-sectional survey design. The convenience sampling method was used since the self-administered questionnaire was distributed to graduates at two graduation ceremonies. Independent samples t-tests were done to compare the mean scores on the six dimensions of the competencies scale between gender, schools and degrees. Chi-square tests were done to establish whether there are associations between gender, faculty schools, degrees and employment status. Spearman rank-order correlation was performed to measure the correlations between the six factors of the competencies scale. The six individual competencies that scored the highest means were: “(1) tolerance, appreciation of different points of view, (2) written communication skills, (3) critical thinking, (4) English language proficiency, (5) working in a team, and (6) taking responsibility for decisions”. A follow-up study should be done among employers to determine what competencies they require from humanities graduates.","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67713803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Familiarity with the Covid-19 pandemic-related statistical jargon is a requirement for the layman, who must stay abreast of developments apropos of rate of infection, spread, and mortality rate comprising the pandemic. Such a familiarity, termed statistical literacy (SL) in the related discourse, is increasingly becoming an important aspect of higher education (HE) studentship across universities, internationally. This article offers an extension to the extant theorisations of statistical literacy in the context of Covid-19. Formulation of a solid theoretical rationale for fostering the competency of SL at the HE level is therefore central to this article. The literature offers the notion of critical statistical literacy (CSL) as anchored in a social-justice paradigm. CSL is used here as a starting point for the theoretical extensions proposed in this article. A novel disciplinary idea called “social justice statistics (SJS)” is also introduced. The idea of “critical statistical consciousness (CSC)” as a new proposition for theorising the statistical sensibility of citizens is also put forward. The ways in which CSC rationalises CSL, and foregrounds SJS, are subsequently theorised. CSC, as a broad attribute, quality, or a higher-education trait, is thus positioned in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. These theorisations have implications for the practice of statistics, both at the levels of “producer” and “consumer” of statistical communications that characterise the way in which the pandemic is understood by the layman.
{"title":"\"Critical statistical literacy\", \"Social justice statistics\", and \"Critical statistical consciousness\" as higher education imperatives, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa","authors":"A. Krishnannair, S. Krishnannair","doi":"10.20853/36-1-4509","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-1-4509","url":null,"abstract":"Familiarity with the Covid-19 pandemic-related statistical jargon is a requirement for the layman, who must stay abreast of developments apropos of rate of infection, spread, and mortality rate comprising the pandemic. Such a familiarity, termed statistical literacy (SL) in the related discourse, is increasingly becoming an important aspect of higher education (HE) studentship across universities, internationally. This article offers an extension to the extant theorisations of statistical literacy in the context of Covid-19. Formulation of a solid theoretical rationale for fostering the competency of SL at the HE level is therefore central to this article. The literature offers the notion of critical statistical literacy (CSL) as anchored in a social-justice paradigm. CSL is used here as a starting point for the theoretical extensions proposed in this article. A novel disciplinary idea called “social justice statistics (SJS)” is also introduced. The idea of “critical statistical consciousness (CSC)” as a new proposition for theorising the statistical sensibility of citizens is also put forward. The ways in which CSC rationalises CSL, and foregrounds SJS, are subsequently theorised. CSC, as a broad attribute, quality, or a higher-education trait, is thus positioned in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. These theorisations have implications for the practice of statistics, both at the levels of “producer” and “consumer” of statistical communications that characterise the way in which the pandemic is understood by the layman.","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67714222","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Academic Development Programmes (ADPs), or Extended Curriculum Programmes (ECPs), continue to play a central role in increasing access to previously marginalised students in higher education in South Africa. Using Archer’s morphogenetic approach, this study examines how a group of ADP students “made their way” through their engineering undergraduate studies. Twelve students in their fourth year of study were interviewed three times and selected university documents were analysed. The authors found that the fragmented curriculum, shortened consolidation and examination periods, and unfavourable examination timetables potentially constrained the students’ aspirations. In addition, the mainstream students and lecturers’ ideas about ADP students worsened their experience of marginalisation and exception. We also found that students experienced the mainly black student enrolment of the ADP as racial discrimination. The findings indicate that students found themselves in enormously constrained circumstances, but they also exhibited what Archer calls “corporate agency” and different “modes of reflexivity” to overcome some of these constraints. We argue that the establishment of Academic Development Programmes as separate from mainstream curricula, while enabling access to some extent, may have unintended consequences of also constraining the students for whom they are designed.
{"title":"How ADP students navigate enablements and constraints of the programme: An exploration of structure and agency","authors":"D. Mogashana, J. Case, K. Williams","doi":"10.20853/36-2-4698","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-2-4698","url":null,"abstract":"Academic Development Programmes (ADPs), or Extended Curriculum Programmes (ECPs), continue to play a central role in increasing access to previously marginalised students in higher education in South Africa. Using Archer’s morphogenetic approach, this study examines how a group of ADP students “made their way” through their engineering undergraduate studies. Twelve students in their fourth year of study were interviewed three times and selected university documents were analysed. The authors found that the fragmented curriculum, shortened consolidation and examination periods, and unfavourable examination timetables potentially constrained the students’ aspirations. In addition, the mainstream students and lecturers’ ideas about ADP students worsened their experience of marginalisation and exception. We also found that students experienced the mainly black student enrolment of the ADP as racial discrimination. The findings indicate that students found themselves in enormously constrained circumstances, but they also exhibited what Archer calls “corporate agency” and different “modes of reflexivity” to overcome some of these constraints. We argue that the establishment of Academic Development Programmes as separate from mainstream curricula, while enabling access to some extent, may have unintended consequences of also constraining the students for whom they are designed.","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67714248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
B. Mendelowitz, I. Fouché, Y. Reed, G. Andrews, F. Vally Essa
In 2020, when the switch to remote teaching and learning required redesigning asynchronous on-line versions of face-to-face courses, we were concerned about whether access to engaged and dialogic learning could be facilitated in this new space. In attempting to address this concern we asked students in a B Ed Honours course to post, in an online forum, their reflective responses to weekly readings and to each other’s posts. This discussion forum became the engine of the course. With their permission, the posts of students in the 2021 cohort, together with their summative reflective reading response assignment, were analysed in order to understand different kinds of dialogic interactions and their affordances for reducing the potential alienation of asynchronous learning. One of the key findings that emerged from this analysis is the role of dialogic interaction in facilitating the development of personal, professional and scholarly voices which contributed to epistemic access. Our analysis was informed by the theoretical work of Bakhtin on the dialogic and by theoretical and empirical work of scholars in the field of critical pedagogies. We use examples from the writing of a ‘stronger’ and a ‘weaker’ student to illustrate how students negotiated roles and positions for themselves by appropriating and using the textual resources available on the forum. We argue for the value of sustained practice in ‘writing about reading’, of reading each other’s writing and of ‘writing back’ to one another on-line, for the gradual acquisition of a range of confident voices and for enhanced understanding of module content.
{"title":"Postgraduate pedagogy in pandemic times: Online forums as facilitators of access to dialogic interaction and scholarly voices","authors":"B. Mendelowitz, I. Fouché, Y. Reed, G. Andrews, F. Vally Essa","doi":"10.20853/36-4-5191","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20853/36-4-5191","url":null,"abstract":"In 2020, when the switch to remote teaching and learning required redesigning asynchronous on-line versions of face-to-face courses, we were concerned about whether access to engaged and dialogic learning could be facilitated in this new space. In attempting to address this concern we asked students in a B Ed Honours course to post, in an online forum, their reflective responses to weekly readings and to each other’s posts. This discussion forum became the engine of the course. With their permission, the posts of students in the 2021 cohort, together with their summative reflective reading response assignment, were analysed in order to understand different kinds of dialogic interactions and their affordances for reducing the potential alienation of asynchronous learning. One of the key findings that emerged from this analysis is the role of dialogic interaction in facilitating the development of personal, professional and scholarly voices which contributed to epistemic access. Our analysis was informed by the theoretical work of Bakhtin on the dialogic and by theoretical and empirical work of scholars in the field of critical pedagogies. We use examples from the writing of a ‘stronger’ and a ‘weaker’ student to illustrate how students negotiated roles and positions for themselves by appropriating and using the textual resources available on the forum. We argue for the value of sustained practice in ‘writing about reading’, of reading each other’s writing and of ‘writing back’ to one another on-line, for the gradual acquisition of a range of confident voices and for enhanced understanding of module content.","PeriodicalId":44786,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Higher Education","volume":"131 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67714464","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：