A systematic thinking exploration of the challenges facing maritne education & training : the case of public higher education institutions in KwaZulu-Natal.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The maritime environment from the beginning of this century has had a great socio-economic impact on countries as well as the broader global economy. This has resulted in the need for various stakeholders such as the government and business to play an active role in addressing challenges such as safety and security for example. In the aspect of education and training, the challenges have included the decreasing numbers of youth taking up Maritime Education and Training (MET), technological advancements, the cost, standards, and quality of MET globally. Some of these issues have been identified in developing countries such as the Republic South Africa (RSA). RSA possesses an education and training system which has transformed immensely post its democratization in 1994 and World University Rankings placing its public higher education institutions at the top in African continent, offering an array of programmes from social sciences and natural sciences to those that border on the two, such as MET. However, these institutions still remain confronted by numerous problems, such as the decline in State funding, slow academic succession and transformation, and the increasing demand for institutional capacity, etc. This study, through a Systems Thinking lens explores the challenges facing MET in public higher education institutions, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) in RSA. Informed by an interpretivist worldview, a qualitative design, a phenomenological strategy and purposive sampling with the assistance of an interview guide, data was analysed into themes which suggested that MET faces numerous challenges both internal and external of its environment and some of these included limited stakeholder involvement, as well as scarcity. Key stakeholders continue to play an active but limited role by developing partnerships facilitating the provision of MET in attempting to address the challenges facing MET and also close the skills gaps in KZN’s maritime industry. The study contributes to a holistic understanding which illustrates how the development of MET institutions fit into the picture of the maritime industry in KZN and how one is not divorced from the other; rather, they reinforce each other, influencing each other’s state of being

Leadership Strategies for Retaining Mariners Aboard State Maritime Academy Training Ships

The shortage of qualified merchant marines in the United States requires State Maritime Academy (SMA) leaders to develop competitive retention strategies to retain merchant mariners aboard training vessels. The purpose of this single case study was to identify retention strategies that U.S. SMA leaders used to retain mariners aboard training ships. The conceptual framework of this study was Vroom\u27s expectancy theory. The study participants consisted of 5 SMA leaders overseeing the mariners aboard a training vessel. Semistructured interviews and review of SMA documents pertaining to employment strategies provided the study data. The data analysis included collecting and coding data, and using the constant comparative method to identify the themes. Four themes related to successful retention strategies emerged from the data analysis: (a) the monetary value of employment and benefits must be comparable to what is available in the maritime industry, (b) professional development is necessary to maintain maritime industry credentials and improve employee performance within the organization, (c) recognition and understanding of the uniqueness of being a mariner as a profession is important to mariners, and (d) transparency and trust increase communication and improve retention. The findings of this study contribute to positive social change by providing best practices for SMA leaders to integrate retention strategies to improve employment satisfaction, enhance the training of mariners on U.S. waterways, and increase longevity of qualified mariners, which could create a healthy and positive work environment

Sustainable development in maritime education and training; trends, challenges and the way forward

As a run-up to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), in 2013, adopted the concept of "a sustainable maritime transport system". The concept stresses the role of maritime education and training (MET) in realizing a sustainable maritime transport system. Maritime education and training institutions (METIs), therefore, have to integrate sustainable development (SD) into MET. This paper investigates the concept of an SD-based MET system vs. the business-as-usual STCW-based system. Trends within MET relating to SD are discussed while associated challenges are identified. Means of achieving an SD-based MET system are proposed while shedding light on a number of ongoing initiatives to integrate SD into MET. Finally, the possible contributions of MET institutions to the UN’s forthcoming "Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030)" are considered

Internationalising Chinese Maritime Higher Education: Developing Content and English Language Integrated Teaching and Learning

This thesis examines how new maritime nations, which are engaged in the export of seafaring labour, need to respond to the demands of the international maritime industry. In particular, traditional maritime nations are calling for greater internationalisation of maritime education and training. The global labour market for seafarers, which is dominated by employers from traditional maritime nations, demands internationally minded graduates. China’s response to these demands for quality labour exports from new maritime nations is the subject of exploration in this thesis. Within the specific context of Maritime English teaching and learning, a significant opportunity for innovation and change is identified. The research took the form of an international collaborative education project in pursuit of the following question: What teaching and learning development opportunities are there for improving the communicative competence of Chinese Navigation officers? The author of this thesis, formally a seafarer, is a teaching practitioner in higher education in the UK. For the purposes of this thesis, the author became a visi ting researcher, and later a teaching practitioner, at the case maritime higher education institution in China. Becoming a member of the teaching staff at the host institution was a necessary step in order to establish and carry out teaching practitioner -led research as a member of a professional learning community. The aim of this professional learning community has been to collaborate on a Maritime English teaching development project. This development work has since continued beyond this PhD study into a commercially funded project, which demonstrates the necessity and timeliness of the research. This thesis sets out to report on the collaborative process of an international education development project as it was experienced. Research was carried out over a 15.5 month period spent in-situ at the case institution. The institution was selected as it is the most influential maritime university in China in terms of national maritime higher education policy reform, due it being under the direct authority of the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China rather than the Ministry of Education, as is the case with other universities. The author had to work very hard to overcome a number of cultural issues to become accepted as a teaching practitioner in the research setting. Once accepted as a participant researcher, research-based professionalism founded on previous teacher training and experience allowed for a living theory approach to improving both own teaching practice and that of new-found colleagues. The outcomes of this PhD study are multiple: The ethnographic account of the development process in the form of this PhD thesis. The establishment of a professional learning community between teaching practitioners and continued research and development work. The local teaching and learning innovation in the form of a new content and language integrated syllabus for Maritime English teaching, suitable for Chinese learners at maritime higher education institutions. The continued collaboration between an industry stakeholder and the local teaching practitioners in the further development of a new Maritime English syllabus and accompanying teaching resources to ensure that it meets the needs of employers. As understanding grew of how Chinese maritime higher education institutions are preparing their students for employment in the global labour market for seafarers, the research objectives emerged while in-situ. The aim of the research centred on working with local teaching practitioners and industry stakeholders to improve the quality of maritime education graduates’ transferable skills, in terms of their intercultural communicative competence. The key feature of the study was to collaboratively identify teaching and learning development opportunities for improving the preparedness of Chinese maritime higher education graduates to work in a safety critical environment, where they will need to communicate effectively in English. The internationalisation of the Maritime English syllabus, and the wider Navigation curriculum, through content and language integrated learning and teaching is the main recommendation of this thesis. The evidence presented in this thesis has led to the conclusion that this curriculum intervention is necessary for improving the transferable skills of Chinese Maritime Higher Education graduates. The content and language integrated learning approach to teaching was found to offer Chinese maritime higher education institutions with a solution to boost intercultural communicative competence in meeting the demands of the international maritime industry for professionally skilled, and competent-in-English seafarers for labour export.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC