Decolonising the postgraduate diploma in higher education curriculum at one university of technology in South Africa

The aim of this theoretical article is to explain efforts at decolonising the Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education (PGDHE) curriculum at a university of technology (UoT) in South Africa. The main source of information was collected through relevant secondary data. The cost of continuing with Western knowledge organisation in the PGDHE programme destroys and undervalues African intellectualism, culture and literature, while imposing colonial language through prescribed texts. We argue that a clear understanding of decolonisation of the curriculum is necessary, to avoid the risk of implementing changes that will result in superficial alterations, rather than an inclusive curriculum that accentuates African intellectualism. The article recommends that a discourse around decolonisation should be sustained at all levels of the institution in re-thinking and re-evaluating the modules offered in the PGDHE programme to ensure they become more inclusive

Educators' perceptions of the school as a learning organization in the Vanderbijlpark-North District, South Africa

This article outlines the principal findings of research that sought to provide a comprehensive understanding of schools as learning organisations in the Vanderbijl Park-North District of the Gauteng province of South Africa. The quantitative research methodology used was of major importance in obtaining data that were grounded largely on the theoretical framework of learning organisations as well as in the personal experiences of educators and principals. The purpose of the research was to investigate the essential features of learning organizations, the perceptions of educators in respect of these essential features and the guidelines that could be provided for schools to cope with the demands of continuous learning and adaptation in a turbulent environment. A major finding was that the learning disciplines of personal mastery, mental models, a shared vision, teamwork and systems thinking were fundamental to two factors: namely, a collaborative culture and personal beliefs about educator commitment. The school can therefore function as a learning organization by cultivating a climate where a collaborative culture and beliefs that stimulate educator commitment can develop. (South African Journal of Education: 2002 22(2): 88-94

Learners’ perceptions as to what contributes to their school success: a case study

Some historically black schools manage to do quite well despite their circumstances, such as dire poverty. We aim at explicating some of the causal factors regarding the effectiveness of three schools in deep rural  Mpumalanga, South Africa by tapping the perceptions of their learners. Data were collected from learner samples (four girls and four boys from each school, all of them black) by means of semi-structured focus group interviews. The results lead to the conclusion that the perceptions of disadvantaged black learners in this area, with respect to what contributes to their educational effectiveness, may also be understood in terms of hierarchical insights and awarenesses, the ontological basis of which seems to be successful pedagogical dialogue, with mutual acceptance as its fountainhead.Keywords: educational effectiveness; learner perceptions; pedagogicaldialogue; rural South Africa; school succes

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND TEACHER LEARNING AT AN OPEN DISTANCE LEARNING UNIVERSITY (ODL) IN SOUTH AFRICA

Quality education requires quality training internationally and nationally.Professional development of staff for student learning is thus essential in a fast-changing, complex,globalisedknowledge environment. This paper explores howone open-distance learning (ODL) university in South Africa plansprofessionaldevelopment for the training of undergraduate teachers to improve teachingpractices, leading to students learning more.Usinga qualitative research paradigmand a phenomenological design, data were collected from six purposely selected,fourth-year undergraduate student teachers and analysed according to Giorgi’sphenomenological methods. The results confirm previous studies, fortheparticipantsfeltthatit wasimportantto establishcommunitiesof practicewithintheirindividualsubjectareas,to enable themto sharetheirexperiencesandmaintaintheirpassionforteaching.This study recommends thatthe IT supportpersonnel in the Department of Basic Education, provides learning materialsneededbyschools and assist in the training of teachers forquality training

Effective and empowering communication as an aspect of the training and development of principals

A school manager (principal, administrator, leader) should be keenly aware of the power relations and structures in a school, and also able to apply several communication skills effectively in a range of management contexts for the school to prosper. This article reports on a theoretical investigation into effective communication as well as an empirical study of educators’ views regarding the effectiveness of the communication skills of their school principals. The findings are of such a nature that principals should consider applying a similar survey instrument among their staff and other parties involved in their schools to helping them gauge the effectiveness of their communication skills. It is also recommended that principals consider the use of certain types of social media in their communication with other stakeholder parties.http://apps.ufs.ac.za/journals/dl/system/docs/21/171/1388/07_MoloiETAL.pd