Building local research capacity in higher education: a conceptual model

Building local research capacity is an enduring challenge that confronts many higher education systems particularly when aspirations for a knowledge economy dominate policymaking. While research capacity has received tremendous attention among international development agencies and scholars, the discourse is largely oriented towards infrastructure, skills training and best practices. This study interrogates the concept of local research capacity building as a dynamic process. By contrasting the policy rhetoric with the lived experiences of academics based in Kazakhstan, we propose a conceptual model to illustrate the diverse levels of research capacity building: resources, locality, relevance, human capital and culture. This study examines research capacity building in the context of the internationalisation of higher education as researchers become increasingly mobile. We argue that investing in infrastructure and human capital are insufficient for capacity building. Rather, sustainable capacity building requires research that is relevant to the local context and a cultural environment that can nurture a vibrant research community.     

The changing racial profile of academic staff at South African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), 2005–2013

South Africa has undergone transformation since the end of apartheid governance in 1994. Legislatively enforced, this transformation has permeated most sectors of society, including higher education. Questions remain, however, about the extent to which transformation has occurred in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in general, and across the academic staff body in HEIs in particular. In this study, we examine the transformation of academic staff profiles at HEIs throughout the country. Initially, we graph the racial profile of academics across multiple positions (junior lecturer to professor) from 2005 to 2013. We then use correlational analysis to identify which characteristics of universities in South Africa can be used to explain the racial inequities evident in South African HEIs. Our results indicate that world university ranking; percentage black African staff; percentage black African student body; and whether the university is ‘historically disadvantaged’, all influence the racial profile of the academic staff body to varying degrees. The size of the overall staff and study body does not appear to influence the racial profile of universities’ staff component. We conclude that transformation of the academic staff body of HEIs in South Africa is indeed occurring, albeit slowly. Rather than seeing this as a negative, we argue that the pace of ‘academic’ transformation in the country needs to be interpreted within the framework of academic governance.     

Quality issues in the internationalisation of higher education

Although the quality issue has become a central preoccupation inother domains of higher education, current internationalisation policiesand practices in higher education have developed without much concernfor quality assurance. The central thesis of this paper is that we havecome to a point in the development of higher education whereinternationalisation policies and practices face the limits of theirdevelopment unless the quality challenge is addressed in all itsconsequences. The paper first provides an overview of contemporary formsof and recent developments in internationalisation in higher education.From more or less `traditional' forms such as student and teaching staffmobility, internationalisation policies and practices nowadays move intoactivities such as exporting higher education via branch campuses andinstitutional co-operation, developing transnational university networksand virtual delivery of higher education, and the harmonisation ofhigher education systems. In these recent developments several issuesand challenges arise, which in one kind or another have direct links tothe quality challenge. The quality of internationalisation policies andpractices itself is an important problem, but of more importance are theissues of the recognition of foreign diplomas and degrees and therecognition of credits and credit-transfer. This paper takes a criticalstance towards for example the ECTS, which tries to solve these issueswithout much concern for quality. The way out lies in an integration ofinternationalisation policies and general quality assurance practices atinstitutional and policy levels.     

Crossing the ‘bridges’ and navigating the ‘learning gaps’: Chinese students learning across two systems in a transnational higher education programme

ABSTRACT

Chinese universities are actively pursuing cross-border collaborations in the form of transnational higher education programmes. Our study captures the experiences of Chinese students to illuminate how they navigate their learning journeys in a China-Australia articulation programme. To communicate the complexity of learning in modern transnational higher education programmes, we employed activity theory as the theoretical framework to explore cross-cultural contradictions shaping students’ experiences of learning. Assessment, programme rules, teaching strategies, and class and campus settings created contradictions that students had to negotiate as in-between learning spaces. We argue that cross-system contradictions play important roles in transnational higher education programmes. Therefore, instead of seeking to eliminate these contradictions or smooth cross-educational differences, these contradictions should be leveraged as learning opportunities to enrich transnational higher education programmes.     

Swimming in the deep end: transnational teaching as culture learning?

Drawing upon the experiences of a group of academics who were responsible for the teaching and coordination of a newly established offshore program, this study considers intercultural learning during transnational education (TNE) sojourns and demonstrates that the personal and pedagogical adaptation required of academics is significant. The study combines data from pre-, during- and post-sojourn interviews with detailed observations of offshore teaching. This ethnographic methodology provides a detailed account of the TNE experience that is rare in the literature. The study adds support to the contention that the acknowledgement of cultural distance, rather than the adoption of a universalist mindset, is a precondition for development of intercultural competence through transnational teaching. The reflections of the respondents indicate that when transnational educators are prepared to learn from the ambiguity encountered during offshore teaching, they have the capacity to experience personal growth and to add significantly to their university's human capital. The paper argues that this ‘preparedness’ to learn should not be left to chance lest it does not eventuate and that the responsibility for development is shared between transnational educators, who must be open to change and prepared to engage in self-reflection that can be confronting, and universities, who must formally recognise the need to provide time, resources and quality, ethical learning interventions in order to facilitate the development of intercultural competence in all staff, especially those who teach overseas.     

District professional development models as a way to introduce primary‐school teachers to natural science curriculum reforms in one district in South Africa

This paper reports on a study that investigated whether district continued professional development (CPD) sufficiently prepared teachers for their classroom practice. Analysis of CPD models used with primary‐school natural science teachers in a district in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa was conducted. Findings indicated that the district CPD models used with the teachers did not address the various challenges and complexities within the district and therefore created several challenges that negatively impacted on the success of the new curriculum reforms. It is argued that successful CPD models should address both the internal and external factors that influence individuals' understanding of new reforms and their social practice. Thus, it is proposed that each district should develop a context‐based CPD model that captures and addresses issues that are likely to impact teacher learning and classroom practice in their particular context.     

Education and skills for development in South Africa: Reflections on the accelerated and shared growth initiative for South Africa

In July 2005, President Mbeki announced the launch of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA), a new development strategy designed to help the South African state meet the ANC's 2004 election pledges, namely:

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halve unemployment;