Library and Information Science Education at the University of Pretoria, South Africa: Restructuring and Curriculum Development

2000 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 233
Author(s):  
Theo J. D. Bothma ◽  
Hannes J. Britz
Author(s):  
Dennis N Ocholla

Two methods for curriculum review and revision are used to review and revise the Library and Information (LIS) curriculum at the University of Zululand, South Africa. Firstly, as an exercise in product analysis, a case study of the graduates of the University of Zululand between 1996 and 1999 was conducted. Graduates were traced to their current places of employment and interviewed together with their employers in order to determine whether the knowledge, skills and attitudes gained during training were adequate for their current job requirements. Secondly, a market-type analysis was conducted by scanning job advertisements in the field of library and information science appearing in a popular national weekly newspaper over a period of three years. Details regarding date and location of advertisement, type of employer, job details and job specifications and requirements in terms of qualifications, experience, knowledge, skills and attitudes were captured from this source and analysed. Whereas the aforementioned two methods still enjoy popularity, arguably, they alone do not necessarily provide an accurate picture of the demand and supply matrix that can enhance effective and beneficial LIS education for service and employability of graduates. Evidently, the public sector and in particular the public and academic libraries, dominate this specific segment of the employment market in South Africa. Sound education in the fields of management, information and communication technologies, information searching, analysis and synthesis, as well as the ability to perform practical work is regarded as essential. The use of the aforementioned two methods exploits techniques which play a crucial verification role and which effectively supplement other methods such as reviewing existing curriculum and literature, consulting with colleagues and observing national and international trends as well as the focus-group method for academic programme development. Other intervening variables in the study are discussed. The paper addresses issues that can benefit theoretical and methodological issues in library and information science education and curriculum development.


Mousaion ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nkosingiphile Zungu ◽  
Dennis N. Ocholla

This study sought to explore informetrics education in Library and Information Science (LIS) departments at universities in South Africa. We adopted the pragmatic epistemology and pluralistic ontology for our study. The mixed research methods we employed were survey and content analysis. The survey comprised a questionnaire by means of which we collected data from the LIS heads of department (HODs) and informetrics lecturers, and we employed content analysis to analyse the content of course outlines. The study’s population was the LIS departments at the surveyed tertiary education institutions in South Africa. Nine LIS departments were targeted, and eight of them responded. At the time of the study, five of the nine LIS departments were found to offer informetrics education, namely those at the University of Cape Town, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of Limpopo, University of the Western Cape, and University of Zululand. We established that the LIS department at the University of Zululand was the only department that offered informetrics education as an autonomous module/course as part of the full LIS programme. Other LIS departments offered it as a chapter or a unit in a module, and the University of Limpopo offered it at an undergraduate level. We found that the institutions surveyed offered informetrics education at different study levels and notches and that there was no uniformity in the content of the informetrics courses across the institutions’ LIS departments. Our findings indicated that the blended learning method was widely used, comprising case studies, group discussions, and online teaching and learning methods. We found that the various LIS departments experienced challenges (e.g. teaching capacity, student preparedness, and ICT support), and we suggested solutions to meet these challenges. We noted that informetrics education in South Africa was limited and we recommended more awareness creation, curricula development, short courses and awareness of global trends.


Mousaion ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 36-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan R. Maluleka ◽  
Omwoyo B. Onyancha

This study sought to assess the extent of research collaboration in Library and Information Science (LIS) schools in South Africa between 1991 and 2012. Informetric research techniques were used to obtain relevant data for the study. The data was extracted from two EBSCO-hosted databases, namely, Library and Information Science Source (LISS) and Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA). The search was limited to scholarly peer reviewed articles published between 1991 and 2012. The data was analysed using Microsoft Excel ©2010 and UCINET for Windows ©2002 software packages. The findings revealed that research collaboration in LIS schools in South Africa has increased over the past two decades and mainly occurred between colleagues from the same department and institution; there were also collaborative activities at other levels, such as inter-institutional and inter-country, although to a limited extent; differences were noticeable when ranking authors according to different computations of their collaborative contributions; and educator-practitioner collaboration was rare. Several conclusions and recommendations based on the findings are offered in the article.


Mousaion ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ike Khazamula Hlongwane

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) practice offers sound benefits to library and information science (LIS) schools. Despite these envisaged benefits, very little is known about RPL practice in LIS schools in South Africa. This study sought to establish whether principles of good assessment were being followed in the LIS schools to ensure the integrity of the RPL outcomes. A combination of a questionnaire and document analysis were used to collect data from the ten LIS schools in the South African higher education and training landscape. The questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data through a survey method. In addition, the researcher employed content analysis to collect qualitative data from institutional RPL policy documents. The findings indicate that RPL assessment processes across LIS schools in South Africa were largely subjected to principles of good practice. The study found that in accordance with the SAQA RPL policy the purpose of assessment was clarified to the candidate upfront, the quality of support to be provided to the candidate in preparing for the assessment was established, an appeals process was made known to the candidate, and the choice of assessment methods was fit for purpose to ensure credible assessment outcomes. It is therefore recommended that other disciplines or departments use LIS schools’ experiences as a benchmark to improve their own RPL endeavours.


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