Addressing the factors responsible for the misunderstanding of Technology Education with other subject fields

Technology Education was introduced and rolled out in South African schools in 1998. It has been twenty years since its implementation, yet it is being confused with other traditional subjects. Therefore, even though it is expected that Technology Education should be known for what it is exactly, it is still misunderstood, misconceived and misrepresented. There are factors that contribute towards its misunderstanding (a failure to understand it), misconception (incorrect opinion caused falsely thinking about or understanding it) and misrepresentation (giving a false or misleading account of its nature), such as it being confused with Engineering Education, Educational Technology, Science Education and Technical Vocational Education and Training. Misunderstanding Technology Education causes its misconception and misrepresentation; hence, in this article I use misunderstanding to cover misconception and misrepresentation as well. There is no dedicated literature (at least in South Africa), dealing with this problem in detail; only piecemeal definitions contained in studies about Technology Education exist. Hence, this article explores factors leading to the misunderstanding of Technology Education. As part of addressing this problem, the article builds on the Meaningful Learning in Technology Education Framework to accommodate a more expanded understanding of Technology Education that may help to defuse its misunderstanding. The article contributes knowledge in the scholarship of the understanding Technology Education – if Technology Education scholars, teachers and the broader readership do not have a clear understanding of Technology Education, how can those who are being taught the subject, i.e. the learners, be expected to understand it

An Action Research Pilot Study on the Integration of Indigenous Technology in Technology Education

My intention with this article is to report how I piloted my action research study on the integration of Indigenous Technology in Technology teaching and learning. This article does not present the findings of the study. Its focus is on the pilot project with the intention to cast light on the importance and function of a pilot study as a forerunner of the main study. Thus, this article accounts for the decisions that I made, implemented and revised based on the realities that I was faced with during the pilot project. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n10p38

Addressing the factors responsible for the misunderstanding of Technology Education with other subject fields

Technology Education was introduced and rolled out in South African schools in 1998. It has been twenty years since its implementation, yet it is being confused with other traditional subjects. Therefore, even though it is expected that Technology Education should be known for what it is exactly, it is still misunderstood, misconceived and misrepresented. There are factors that contribute towards its misunderstanding (a failure to understand it), misconception (incorrect opinion caused falsely thinking about or understanding it) and misrepresentation (giving a false or misleading account of its nature), such as it being confused with Engineering Education, Educational Technology, Science Education and Technical Vocational Education and Training. Misunderstanding Technology Education causes its misconception and misrepresentation; hence, in this article I use misunderstanding to cover misconception and misrepresentation as well. There is no dedicated literature (at least in South Africa), dealing with this problem in detail; only piecemeal definitions contained in studies about Technology Education exist. Hence, this article explores factors leading to the misunderstanding of Technology Education. As part of addressing this problem, the article builds on the Meaningful Learning in Technology Education Framework to accommodate a more expanded understanding of Technology Education that may help to defuse its misunderstanding. The article contributes knowledge in the scholarship of the understanding Technology Education – if Technology Education scholars, teachers and the broader readership do not have a clear understanding of Technology Education, how can those who are being taught the subject, i.e. the learners, be expected to understand it

Elders Decry the Loss of Ubuntu

This paper reports the findings of a study conducted on the issues surrounding ubuntu. It addresses the questions: What is ubuntu? What has happened to ubuntu? Five elders were selected from Akasia in the north of Pretoria and interviewed. Several themes emanating from the findings reveal challenges that ubuntu faces in response to the question of what has happened to ubuntu. The elders’ definition of ubuntu places children at the centre, that is, ubuntu is the way children relate to the elderly in terms of respect that they must show. In conclusion I suggest an ubuntu mode in figure 1, which is opposed to the individualism mode in figure 2. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n10p6

Assessing the quality of the integrated tutor model for student support in Open Distance Learning

The demand for university education has put pressure on institutions of higher learning to provide access and quality student support because increased access to higher education should not compromise the quality of student support services. Tutorial support in Open Distance Learning (ODL) is one of the support services used by institutions to ensure increasing academic access and participation. An Integrated Tutor Model (ITM) has been used for this purpose at the University of South Africa (Unisa). However, the quality of the ITM-based tutor support services is not yet known. The aim of this qualitative exploratory study was to assess the quality of tutorial support services offered through the ITM at Unisa. The ITM model is the integration of the face-to-face and online tutor systems adopted by Unisa. Students who were involved in the tutorials of the first and second semesters in 2022 were purposively selected to participate in the study. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). We learned that the students hold positive views about the quality of tutorials in terms of time management and the quality of recordings on Microsoft Teams, the tutors who offer the modules and the communication that they receive from the tutors. There were however challenges that the students faced such as load-shedding and network-related and personal issues. The tutors mitigated these challenges by sending the students the recordings of the sessions. The study shares knowledge about the tutors’ skills and creativity in the use of the ITM to provide quality support toward student learning in an ODL higher institutional environment

Tutors' views on the integrated tutor model in open distance learning

The facilitation of learning by tutors is a worldwide phenomenon that is supported by most open and distance learning (ODL) institutions. It is a strategy employed to achieve academic success. This qualitative intrinsic case study explored the views of tutors at the University of South Africa (Unisa) about the implementation of the Integrated Tutor Model (ITM) which supports student learning. The successes, challenges and impact of the ITM on the tutors’ delivery of tutorials are not fully known. Therefore, the findings of this study will highlight the successes, challenges and impact of the ITM which Unisa can use to improve the model. Data were gathered through face-to-face interviews with six tutors who were purposively selected from Unisa’s Gauteng region. The findings revealed successes and challenges of the ITM that affect the support that is due to the students via tutorage. These findings explain the application of the ITM that can assist Unisa in strengthening or reviewing both the tutor system and the model

The Effects of Self-Regulated Learning Training on Students’ Metacognition and Achievement in Chemistry

Self-regulated learning strategies are critical for students to be able to learn abstract subjects successfully and meaningful. This article reports on an empirical investigation of the effectiveness of self-regulatory training on secondary school students’ metacognition and achievement in chemistry. A total of 60 students aged 14-15 were randomly assigned into either the experimental group or the control group. Participants in the experimental group completed four self-regulated learning (SRL) exercises based on Zimmerman’s (2002) cyclical model. Data were collected using pre- and post-self-regulated learning questionnaire (SRLQ), and pre- and post reaction rates knowledge tests (RRKT) test. Additional qualitative data were collected through classroom observation and interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS while thematic analysis was used for the qualitative data. The results revealed that there were significant differences between the two groups in terms of SRL skills, i.e. students in the experimental group scored higher on post-SRLQ. Regarding students’ achievement in chemistry, a slightly greater improvement was found for the students with SRL training. The findings suggested that training in SRL improves students’ achievement in chemistry and therefore should be included in secondary science classrooms

French-speaking students’ academic experiences at a private provider of higher education offering foundation programmes

Academic experiences of French-speaking immigrant students involve a negotiation of French language with the language of learning and teaching (LoLT). Utilising Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP), case study, observation, document analysis and a narrative inquiry, this research set out to explore the academic experiences of French-speaking students at a private provider of higher education offering foundation programmes as a route to mainstream degree programmes. It was found that sociocultural factors played vital roles in the survival of French-speaking students at the academic institution. South African students spoke Sotho and Zulu both within and outside of the lecture rooms, a scenario which undermined the capacity of French-speaking students’ to adapt academically and socioculturally to the academic institution. Unfriendliness on the part of South African students and introversion (an inherent character trait) as along with the incongruous posture of the French-speaking students in terms of their incessant use of the French language challenged their academic survival

Exploring the conceptual relationship between e-skill, procedural and pedagogical content knowledge of teachers in the digital classroom environment

This paper reports on a study that was designed to formally explore the relationship between e-skills procedural, functional and pedagogical content knowledge of Business Studies teachers in the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure as pedagogical tools. We were specifically interested in the effective delivery of office data processing (ODP) teaching in the digital classroom environment at Further Education and Training (FET) colleges in Gauteng Province of South Africa. The demand for a highly skilled workforce to use ICT for innovation, creativity, improved performance and societal transformation is enormous and has led to it becoming known as e-skills. Based on the extended models of Mishra’s and Koheler’s TPACK-PrFPACK, a 65-item questionnaire using a 5-point scale was developed and used in this study, plus interviews and classroom observation. The population of this study was made up of 36 male and 41 female ODP teachers in eight Further Education and Training (FET) colleges. The findings revealed that procedural functional knowledge (PrF) has the highest direct impact on pedagogical knowledge. The findings also revealed that teacher experience is an important construct that moderates the dynamic relationship between e-skills, procedural and pedagogy