The accessibility of further education and training colleges to South African sign language users in KwaZulu-Natal

Kwazulu Natal ◽

After twenty-four years of democracy, the predicament of people with disabilities has finally become part of the transformation agenda. There has been a growing acceptance that people with disabilities can play active roles in both transforming their own lives and contributing to society. For this to transpire, access to proper education and training opportunities is fundamental. There is thus a need for higher educational institutions to divest themselves of all forms of discrimination against those with disabilities. This requires that people with disabilities be given equal opportunities to enter higher education programmes and to succeed in them. Despite the strong legislative and policy framework for addressing disability in the education sector, access to higher education for disabled students, particularly the South African Sign Language (SASL) users, is believed to be limited. Using the Social Model of disability, this study seeks to investigate the accessibility of Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges to SASL users in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). In this investigation, a total number of fifty South African Sign Language users filled in questionnaires and two representatives from Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges in KwaZulu-Natal were interviewed. This study targeted SASL users who were out of school and wanted to further their studies at higher education institutions. The participants were recruited by inviting all d/Deaf and hard of hearing people from the four selected Deaf organizations/associations in KwaZulu-Natal to participate in the study. The study undeniably reveals that FET Colleges are not accessible to SASL users in KwaZulu-Natal. This is because FET Colleges in KwaZulu-Natal do not provide access services like SASL interpreters for the d/Deaf community, which violates d/Deaf people’s right to education and is a barrier to the d/Deaf students who want to further their studies. Furthermore, this research identified that the Deaf community in KwaZulu-Natal is not well informed about devices that can be used to assist them in classrooms in order to access information.

Centres of Excellence in the Context of Further Education and Training in South Africa

Industry and Higher Education ◽

10.5367/ihe.2012.0080 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 53-62

Author(s):

Andre van der Bijl ◽

Adele Ebrahim

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Organizational Structures ◽

Education And Training ◽

Further Education ◽

Telephone Interviews ◽

The Difference ◽

Business Sectors ◽

And Training ◽

Centres Of Excellence

Since 1994 South African further education and training (FET) has undergone significant and fundamental changes. These changes include the transfer of colleges between state departments, curriculum revision, forced mergers and a shift in the student population. As a result of the growing interest in, and funding of, vocationally aligned education, education and training excellence models have permeated into the management portfolio of South Africa's FET. FET colleges (FETCs) have been faced with the emerging excellence discourses in the higher education and business sectors, as well as funding and accreditation linked motivators. How FETC managers have chosen to incorporate, or not to incorporate, centres of excellence (CoEs) into their organizational structures indicates both the difference in the application of CoE models to the sector compared with the higher education and business sectors and the way FETCs are managed in their volatile environment. This paper uses data initially gathered for a funded project aimed at identifying excellence indicators applicable to the FET sector, and a comparative content analysis of related publications and telephone interviews with senior staff responsible for innovation. The authors argue that higher education or business excellence models cannot be applied to the further education and training college environment; models need to be adapted to suit this specific type of environment.

Beyond aid effectiveness: The development of the South African further education and training college sector, 1994–2009

International Journal of Educational Development ◽

10.1016/j.ijedudev.2010.03.011 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 30 (5) ◽

pp. 525-534 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Simon McGrath

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Education And Training ◽

Further Education ◽

Aid Effectiveness ◽

The South ◽

Reimagining the purpose of VET – Expanding the capability to aspire in South African Further Education and Training students

International Journal of Educational Development ◽

10.1016/j.ijedudev.2012.01.008 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 32 (5) ◽

pp. 643-653 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Lesley Powell

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Education And Training ◽

Further Education ◽

The emergence of marketing and communications strategy in South African further education and training colleges

Education Knowledge and Economy ◽

10.1080/17496890701647009 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 301-321 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Simon McGrath ◽

Salim Akoojee

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Education And Training ◽

Further Education ◽

Expressing Organisational Autonomy: A Case Study of South African Further Education and Training Colleges

Politeia ◽

10.25159/2663-6689/5927 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 38 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Andrea Juan ◽

Sylvia Hannan

Keyword(s):

Case Studies ◽

South African ◽

External Environment ◽

Education And Training ◽

Further Education ◽

External Control ◽

Power Dynamics ◽

The Government ◽

The organisational governance of further education and training colleges in South Africa has been cited as an obstacle to the institutions’ ability to contribute to the developmental needs of the country. In response, the government has instituted major policy reforms since 1996, including a move towards granting greater organisational autonomy to these colleges, with limited success. The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of the causes of these governance issues by examining the effect of the organisational environment, with specific focus on the power dynamics that characterised that environment between 2010 and 2012. A qualitative research approach was adopted to answer two research questions: (i) How did the concentration of power in the external environment affect the expression of autonomy of further education and training colleges between 2010 and 2012? and (ii) How did the colleges respond to the power dynamics in the external environment? The analysis of data from case studies of two further education and training colleges revealed that the government had applied external control over the institutions, thereby constraining the overt expression of autonomy. However, the colleges were not without agency and were able to respond strategically to demands from the policy environment. Thus, this study offers a counter-narrative in South African literature on governance in vocational colleges, and the authors of this article assert that the failing governance in respect of the case studies was a result of external forces (power dynamics) rather than the internal characteristics of the colleges.