Case study: Curriculum structure as a key variable affecting performance in higher education: The case of South Africa

2012 ◽  
pp. 204-217
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Curriculum Structure

MENGGAGAS PENDIDIKAN BERWAWASAN KEWIRAUSAHAAN DI PERGURUAN TINGGI ISLAM

ALQALAM ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Nur Hidayah
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Law And Economics ◽  
State Institute ◽  
Study Program ◽  
Islamic Studies ◽  
Entrepreneurial Culture ◽  
Curriculum Structure ◽  
Islamic Values

There has been a concern over a high unemployment rate among graduates of Islamic higher education and a low proportion of entrepreneurs in Indonesia. In fact, a high proportion of entrepreneurs is one of indicators of a country’s welfare. This has generated a question: to what extent do Islamic values cultivate entrepreneurial culture among its adherents? How to cultivate entrepreneurial culture in Islamic higher education? This paper will investigate this matter using a case study of Faculty of Islamic Law and Economics at Banten State Institute for Islamic Studies.  The paper argues that the curriculum at the faculty of Islamic Law and Economics has not been oriented towards building entrepreneurial culture. The curriculum consists of subjects to enhance the students’ competence and skills to prepare them as bachelors of syari`ah economics for the professions such as manager, lecturer, researcher, syari`ah auditor, etc, instead of preparing them for entrepreneurs who are capable to build his or her own business from the scratch.    To propose Islamic entrepreneurship study program at the FSEI of IAIN SMHB, it is important to have a strong political will not only from the internal IAIN but also higher authoritative body such as the Ministry of Religious Affairs to facilitate this from not only the accreditation process but also financial support. A further feasibility study needs to be undertaken to build its infrastructure such as qualified lecturers, appropriate curriculum structure, and recruitment student system. Since this field has a strong link with a ‘real sector’, there has been an urgent need to build cooperations with business sector to enable the students to undertake their apprentice and build their networks to facilitate their ability to develop their own business.     Keywords: Islam, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial education.

scholarly journals The benefits and dangers for churches and ministry institutions to work in a regulated environment, with reference to professionalising religious practice via South African Qualifications Authority and the National Qualifications Framework Act

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham A. Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
National Qualifications Framework ◽  
Fit For Purpose

Since 1994 and the coming of democracy to South Africa there has been a concerted attempt to develop a coherent, unified educational system that will redress the inequities of the apartheid systems. Significant to this ongoing process is the field of higher education, where relevant legislation has been enacted in order to bring coherence and consistency to the education system in the public and private sectors. Significant issues have arisen with regard to the provision made by private religious educational institutions, especially those who have experienced difficulties in being accredited by statutory bodies. This paper seeks to explore these issues and suggest ways forward that are appropriate within an emerging unitary system of education that is fit for purpose in Africa and particularly South Africa, taking as a case study the formation of the Association of Christian Religious Practitioners.

scholarly journals Subordination vs. agency/resistance in South Africa: Virgins bargaining their way through higher education

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 431-445
Author(s):  
Sunelle Stander
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Black Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Quality Education ◽  
Alternative Route ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Student Protests ◽  
African Context

Oppression manifests itself in various ways, such that intersections between different forms of oppression can be identified. This is also true for women living in South Africa, a country that has for years been plagued by many forms of oppression (racism, sexism, classism, etc.). Women are, amidst various forms of oppression, often left with few alternative options but to bargain with various forms of gender relations as a means to obtain basic human rights (like education). Recent student protests have highlighted the discriminating ways in which black students are kept from obtaining higher education. The so called “maidens bursary”, awarded to underprivileged girls who vow to stay virgins throughout their studies, will be used as a case study that examines an alternative route to which underprivileged women may resort in order to obtain a quality education. The notion of patriarchal bargaining will then be used to illumine the often unrecognized, complex and interwoven relationship between subordination and agency/resistance that operates within the South African context.

Knowledge Sharing in an Organisation

2020 ◽  
pp. 201-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee-Anne Lesley Harker ◽  
Michael Twum-Darko
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Actor Network

This chapter employed the moments of translation of the actor-network theory (ANT) to understand and interpret the sociotechnical knowledge sharing dynamics in organisations. Given the contextual and sociotechnical nature of knowledge sharing, a model constructed on the concepts of the moments of translation of the actor network theory (ANT), developed from a case study of a higher education institution (HEI) in South Africa, is proposed to help to understand and interpret the knowledge sharing challenges in organisations. A conceptual framework was developed within the context of ANT by adopting its ideals and principles to understand how to introduce and develop knowledge sharing within an organisation, using the moments of translation. As such, it was possible to determine why there is no network of aligned interest for knowledge sharing, and how to create a network of aligned interest.

scholarly journals Challenges and Curriculum Transformation in the Higher Education Sector in South Africa: A Case Study in WASH to Improve the Training of Pharmacists

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-32
Author(s):  
Roman Tandlich ◽  
Nosiphiwe P. Ngqwala ◽  
Aileen Boshoff ◽  
Phindile Madikizela ◽  
C. Sunitha Srinivas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
Sanitation And Hygiene ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
Postgraduate Research ◽  
South African Higher Education

AbstractIntroduction: South Africa is a member state of the “BRICS” bloc (BRICS2017.org, 2017) and the G20 group of the 20 nations/economic blocs, which between them account for the majority of the world’s trade and economic activity. It faces many developmental challenges which are mirrored in its higher education sector. In this article, the authors seek to provide an overview of the challenges that South African higher education faces in the achievement of the developmental goals of the country. The focus of this paper is a case study in WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) to improve context-specific responses that trains pharmacists on knowledge and skills.Methods: The study was performed as a combination of calculations and a literature review to obtain the background or current status of the higher education sector and developmental planning in South Africa. For this, data were extracted from the Statistics South Africa reports, relevant professional articles on South African higher education sector and results of postgraduate research. Workshop results which were obtained as a collaboration between a public and a private higher education institution and results of postgraduate research were used as the paradigm for transformation and decolonisation of the curriculum for a professional degree in South Africa.Results and discussion: Challenges exist in the South African tertiary education sector and the graduation rate currently stands at 65.1% of the target set by the National Development Plan. Around 58.1% of all students do not complete their university/post-secondary education, which could provide a partial explanation for the skills shortage in South Africa. Decolonisation and transformation of the tertiary education curriculum are major topics in the discourse on higher education in South Africa. The authors propose that one way to achieve this would be inclusion of research results and group activities in the area of water, sanitation and hygiene as a topic for possible and partial transformation of the Bachelor of Pharmacy curriculum.Conclusions: The current article summarises some of topics and challenges that drive the current discourse, developmental and curriculum debate in higher education in South Africa. Student access and through put at tertiary institutions need to be improved and the curriculum needs to be transformed.

scholarly journals Conceptualizing Internationalization at a Distance: A “Third Category” of University Internationalization

2020 ◽  
pp. 102831532090617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenna Mittelmeier ◽  
Bart Rienties ◽  
Ashley Gunter ◽  
Parvati Raghuram
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Internationalization At Home ◽  
The University ◽  
University Internationalization ◽  
At Home

Internationalization efforts in higher education have often been categorized according to Jane Knight’s binary of “Internationalization at Home” (IaH) and “Internationalization Abroad” (IA). However, a rising number of technology-supported activities have created new opportunities for university internationalization. For example, students can now remain “at home” while using technology to study with an institution or program that is simultaneously located “abroad.” We have conceptualized these activities as a new third category called Internationalization at a Distance (IaD). In this article, we introduce the concept of IaD and outline an in-depth case study of an international distance education provider at scale, the University of South Africa.

Promoting sustainable development implementation in higher education

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 1176-1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bankole Awuzie ◽  
Fidelis Emuze
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Single Case Study ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This study aims to review the zeal exhibited by universities in South Africa towards aligning institutional mandates of teaching, learning, research and community engagement to the sustainable development (SD) agenda. The implementation of the SD agenda across higher education institutions (HEIs) continues to draw attention from the wider society. This is because HEIs are increasingly being looked up to for leadership in this regard. However, although several studies are quick to identify various factors which have driven the adoption of sustainable practices in HEIs, the paucity of studies seeking to identify the drivers for SD implementation remains glaring. This is particularly so in developing countries like South Africa. Design/methodology/approach To confirm the exploratory data from desktop study on public university engagement with sustainability in South Africa, a single case study was conducted in the Central University of Technology (CUT). The single case study design adopted semi-structured interviews and document reviews as data collection techniques. Purposive snowballing sampling technique was strictly adhered to in the selection of interviewees. Interviewees were selected on the basis of their roles in the implementation of the CUT’s sustainability agenda. Findings Data emanating from these interviews were analysed thematically using qualitative content analysis. Although a plethora of drivers were identified, there appeared to be a consensus between most of the interviewees that the quest for cost reduction remained the most significant driver for the viable implementation of the sustainability agenda at CUT. Research limitations/implications It is expected that findings from this study would provide a platform for the development of effective implementation strategies in South African HEIs. Also, the findings contribute to filing the extant gap observed concerning implementation and drivers for engendering SD implementation in HEIs in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region. Practical implications By highlighting the drivers for SD implementation, this study contributes to the development of a more receptive social ontology among various stakeholders in an HEI towards the agenda, particularly within the SSA context where there is low level of awareness and buy-in by these stakeholders. Originality/value This study makes an original contribution to the research base of SD in HEIs and implementation.

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