Faculty of Management Sciences

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Question on reality : rethinking the practice of decolonisation in African studies
(Adonis-Abbey Publihers, 2023-09-05) Paimo, Oluwatunmise Taiwo; Fagbadebo, Omololu
Decolonisation, an occurrence that processes an idea, instills a new sense of belonging in people. In Africa, such occurrence is identified as a tool that sets the pace of marginalisation from the rest of the world. Knowledge colonisation still exists, with a gap between a few minorities (White/West) and the majority (Black/Rest). With a deeply rooted dichotomy at different societal levels, recognition is drawn to scholars in research and development. African scholars with the “West” have more hurdles to surmount, primarily to achieve acceptance with their fellow counterparts. As the debate on decolonisation gains prominence, African studies and scholars become important. This study addressed the gap of inconsistencies in relationships, discussions, and the research base of African studies and scholars. It investigates the significance of African studies, examines the practice of African theory, and examines the extent of decolonisation as a reality in African studies. With educational and innovative strategies, structures for the practice of African studies were explored. A descriptive design is adopted for the study; with data gathered using primary and secondary sources.
Reducing school violence : a peace education project in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
(Education Association of South Africa, 2022-05) Ngidi, Lucia Zithobile; Kaye, Sylvia Blanche
Violence occurring in South African schools takes various forms and is a concern for all stakeholders. All forms of violence have negative effects, i.e. physical and psychological, educational damage and societal breakdown. The overall aim of the study reported on here was to explore the nature, causes and consequences of school violence, and then to design an effective intervention strategy to reduce it. In this study we used action research methodology in which stakeholders were empowered to interrupt the occurrence of violence, stop the spread of violence and change group/community norms regarding violence. This strategy of violence reduction was tested at 1 school in Umlazi, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, in 4 stages: initial data collection, formation of an action team, design and implementation of a strategy, and evaluation of its efficacy. The action team was composed of teachers, community members, parents and learners who developed a strategy entitled, We Care (WC). Initial from both schools data showed that schools were unsafe, with school violence caused by substance abuse, theft, vandalism, physical violence, religious discrimination, sexual violence, cyber bullying, gender-based violence and gambling. WC clustered abnormal behaviour patterns demonstrated by learners into categories: violent cases and behavioural indicators of physical, sexual, alcohol and drug abuse. WC assisted high risk learners who had decided to act non violently, help victims and assist parents and community members who perpetrated violence. A preliminary evaluation was conducted 1 year later and WC reported that they had developed capacity to assist with these categories of violence, leading to a reduction in violent behaviour at the school.
Examining the reasons behind teachers leaving the profession : a case study of Umlazi Education District
(2021) Ndende, Tandeka; Govender, Saths
In the uMlazi Education District, there has been a surge of teachers leaving the teaching profession for various reasons. Statistics have revealed that since 2012,the uMlazi Education District has lost 1116 teachers and the number is still rising as eachers are constantly not being replaced by the uMlazi Educational District. It is against this backdrop that this study was conductedin order to analyse the causes of teachers leaving the profession, specifically in the uMlazi Education District. A qualitative study was conducted to probe the target audience’s inner emotions and perceptions about the reasons propelling teachers to leave the profession. In this regard, interviews were conducted with the teachers to ascertain their feelings and emotions. The target population for this study was all the ex-teachers who have quit or left the teaching profession in the uMLaziEducation District. A sample size of 10 former teachers was used. Data collected from the interviews were analysed using thematic and content analyses. The findings of this study show that the factors that cause teachers to abandon the profession are multidimensional,namelyphysical, social and psychological factors. It was also found that mentorship, professional development, good remuneration in the form of salaries, a sizeable workload and recognition could be used to motivate teachers and ensure job satisfaction and staff retention. In this regard, a staff retention model for teachers was developed as a framework that will guide education managers to address the problems confronting the uMlaziEducation District. Several recommendations have been provided to assist the ministry of education, education managers, scholars and policy-makers to improve the welfare of teachers, as well as to appreciate the bottlenecks crippling the education sector.
Postgraduate supervision in a South African transforming academic environment : a reflexivity approach
(Australian Institutes for Educational Research, 2021-12-16) Okeke-Uzodike, Obianuju Ebele
The pace of global transformation places a great emphasis on the need for development, with higher education identified as a key agent in the development of a knowledge economy. Higher education systems have been challenged with providing the necessary skilled person-power to complement the changing labour market. Postgraduate supervision is a vital tool in building institutional research capacities, reputation, financial support and developing skill amongst peers, and between supervisors and candidates. Thus, the effectiveness and efficiency of postgraduate supervision processes determine to a large extent the quality of output and the extent of skills transfer. This article is based on a training course focusing on strengthening postgraduate supervision, attended by the researcher. The primary objective of this article is to examine the concept of postgraduate supervision within a transforming academic environment. Specifically, the article examined how aspects of the supervision process enhance skills development and knowledge transfer. Data for the study were collected through a personal narrative inquiry approach and thematically analysed, with meaning construed alongside related literature. The findings show that postgraduate supervision is characterised by various factors which determine the degree of skills transfer and development. The study provides insights into aspects of supervision that if not well managed, may compromise the objective of skill development. It contributes to the on-going discourse in supervision pedagogy and recommends careful consideration of the dynamic changes that may impact the level of educational transformation and skills development in the knowledge economy
The examination of the importance of education in government leadership : the case of the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
(Romanian Cultural Foundation, 2019-09-02) Mbandlwa, Zamokuhle
There is a strong need to examine the importance of education in african leaders and the role played by education in decisions made by leaders in Africa. Public sector institutions globally, are the hope for the citizens or communities for their needs.The aim of this paper is to show the relationship between poor public service delivery in Africa and lack of education especially economic governance education from african leaders. Africa as the continent is rich in mineral resources but lack of effective leaders who are willing to transform Africa by ensuring that the African economy is developed for Africans. Education status of the African leaders is not a prerequisite for candidates to stand for election in any political leadership position and subsequently into some government positions. Education lays a foundation for individuals to understand policies and it is important for political leaders to have a background of what does it take to hold a senior position in government structure. This paper concludes that political leaders in Africa must have a specific educational background. Candidates must contest political position only if they have specific education qualification and this will minimize political killings and reduce the number of contestants. Findings of this paper are based on the quantitative approached used to analyse the education level of African leaders. The results and conclusions made in this paper show that there is a gap between the demands of the people and the capacity to deliver by african leaders. Public sector institutions in Africa must be led by people who have tertiary qualifications and clear understanding of government administration and economy.
Consumer protection awareness in South Africa
(2007-01) Mason, Roger Bruce
This paper addresses the lack of knowledge about awareness of consumer protection in South Africa, especially amongst disadvantaged consumers. Literature shows that there is a high correlation between the level of economic development and the awareness of consumer rights. The more developed a country is, the more aware its people will be in terms of their consumer rights. The less developed a country is, the lower the level of consumer rights awareness consumers will have. Consumers, like any other citizens of a country, have a right to be protected by the law. Private and non-governmental organisations and the consumer councils need to ensure that the interests and rights of consumers are well protected. The study involved a literature review and an exploratory empirical study into the effect of income and education on awareness of consumer protection by a sample of Durban consumers. A strong positive relationship between consumer protection awareness and income and education was found. Recommendations for actions to improve consumer protection awareness amongst low income, poorly educated consumers are made, and further research to develop a deeper understanding of the problem is suggested
Governance of the research activities in higher educational institutions: factors and outcomes
(Virtus Interpress, 2016) Ngibe, Musawenkosi; Lekhanya, Lawrence Mpele
South African higher education institutions, specifically, universities of technology have been faced with an arduous battle of increasing postgraduate students enrolment (masters and doctoral) and improve their completion rate. However, the situation is exacerbated by inadequate number and inexperience of supervisors to supervise these postgraduate students. The Durban University of Technology has formulated research structures to administer and co-ordinate research activities in order to improve the number of staff members with doctoral qualifications in order to aid the current challenges. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the circumstances and factors hindering the academic staff throughput rates and the impact it has on the university. The use of qualitative and quantitative approach was used for this study, with closed and open-ended questionnaires used to collect data from 278 academic staff members using a probability sampling. The respondents 9 (4.9%) indicated that lack of external funding and project management skills proved to be major contributory factors hindering academics staff to complete their postgraduate degrees within the required time. The study recommends that funding should be made easily available to academics pursuing doctoral studies, while project management workshops should be organised regularly to help academics appropriately management their studies. This can have a positive impact which will benefit the university and aid to the current crisis of lack of supervisor for masters and doctoral studies.
The potential of Open Education Resources to boost high school education in South Africa's Kwazulu-Natal province
(2015) Van der Merwe, Alexander Dawid
Many South African high schools are under-performing with poor pass rates, particularly in mathematics and physical science. Although the country’s state of education would seem to be dire, pockets of excellence thrive in many local schools. Given this available expertise, a free and open education resource (OER) base adapted to local conditions and the necessary will, it may be possible to grow vibrant local open education communities and thus promote more equitable access to better quality education. This descriptive study sought to examine the attitudes of a sample of South African high school teachers towards OERs with the aim of gauging their willingness and capacity to use and/or develop these materials within an open economic model/framework. The study established that, in spite of respondents' recognition of the potential advantages of OERs, and even some significant reported use of these instructional tools, there appear to be serious doubts as to the level of institutional support for such open education initiatives. This is unfortunate since teachers appear to be sympathetic to the philosophy of open education and are prepared to donate regular time and effort to the business of developing these resources. The study concludes that policy, at both school and departmental levels, should be sharply realigned to embrace and actively promote the development and more widespread use of open resources. Only then is the economics of open education likely to be unleashed on a transformative scale.
Development of a quality management system framework for dental assisting education in South Africa
(2014-05-28) Muslim, Tufayl Ahmed; Singh, Ayisha; Naidoo, R.
There has been a call from society for both the provision of a quality education and for a quality “student” who can contribute to the economy and citizenry of South Africa. It therefore makes sense for any educational structure to develop and adopt, strategies and systems in order to meet these new calls, and to provide technologically relevant education that will meet the demands of modern society. This has led to a renewed need for consistency, conformity and quality within higher education. Concerns about students’ capabilities have been raised, and have led to questions about the accountability of higher education institutions. A quality management system framework may ensure that these higher education structures are able to deliver a quality education to their external and internal customers. This research investigated the current quality management systems used in dental assisting both locally and world-wide, and then developed a quality management system framework to suit South African conditions. An action research study, using data gathered from a purposive census sample, and data obtained by means of a mixed-method approach, was conducted in two phases. A preliminary study (Part A) was conducted amongst the four South African dental assisting education programme providers and deficiencies in the quality management systems of these programmes were identified. The preliminary work (Part B) in this study consisted of a comparative analysis of the quality management systems of a convenience sample of dental assisting education providers in twenty countries. Both good practices and deficiencies in practices were identified. A further review of the literature identified possible solutions to improve the quality of the dental assisting education programmes, and was used as the foundation for the development of the Dental Assisting Higher Education – Quality Management Framework (DAHE-QMF). The results of the preliminary study - the comparative analysis and the literature review - revealed that the development and implementation of a quality management system framework for dental assisting in South Africa could lead to an improvement of the standards of training, and thus the competence of the student. The framework will be presented to the four programme leaders at the four Universities of Technology that offer dental assisting education for their consideration of partial/total adaptation of the framework.

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