Stakeholders and Senates: the governance of higher education institutions in South Africa

This article investigates the issue of the governance of higher education institutions and argues that governance by Senates is more appropriate than governance by stakeholders for such institutions. It discusses the ambiguous democratic credentials of stakeholder politics and argues against this mode of politics in the governance of higher education institutions, especially in respect to their ‘transformation’. In terms of distinctions between convergent and shared interests, service and constitutive institutions and the essential lack of transparency of academic practices, it argues that higher education institutions should be governed by the body of accomplished academics. The conclusion is not that Senates cannot be corrupt, but that to substitute governance by stakeholders for governance by Senates cannot solve that problem.     

The politics of mergers in higher education in South Africa

How do political forces come together to influence merger forms and outcomes? This question is posed in a context of an analysis of the forms and outcomes of three “case studies” of mergers that took place in South Africa in the past decade. The theoretical stance, borne out by the data under review, places political actors at the centre of the explanation for change and continuity in the merger of institutions. While there are clearly broad lessons that could apply in other national contexts, the paper recognises that the fact that most published studies on mergers originate in established economies like those of Norway, Australia, England, the USA. The paper poses the question, therefore: do mergers follow different processes and deliver different outcomes in the social, economic and political contexts of third world institutions?     

The skills cline: higher education and the supply-demand complex in South Africa

This paper investigates the relationship between Grade 12 learner preferences for study in higher education, student enrolment in higher education programmes, and student graduations in different programme areas, considering the match between these supply-side indicators and a forecast of skills demand in South Africa as a first step towards ascertaining the extent to which the higher education system is meeting the demand for skills in the labour market. While learner preferences are predominantly for study in the field of Science, Engineering and Technology (SET), student graduations are predominantly in the Humanities. And since a large proportion of scarce-skills areas are SET-related, this creates a mismatch that has implications for the economic development of the country. Simultaneously, however, the demand for educators (school teachers and academics) is even greater: the strongest discrete demand is for educators, followed by that for managers. The paper concludes by urging more concerted development of teachers and managers.     

South Africa: The need for a radical restructuring of specialized education in the new South Africa

Sigamoney Naicker, a lecturer in Specialized Education in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Western Cape, provides an analysis of specialized education after one year of the first democratic government in South Africa.     

Knowledge production and higher education transformation in South Africa: Towards reflexivity in university teaching, research and community service

The central question this article addresses iswhether the emergent shift in knowledgeproduction can transform higher education inSouth Africa to the extent that it becomessocially more relevant. It is my contentionthat higher education transformation in SouthAfrica can become socially more relevant ifguided by the idea of a reflexive praxis whichallows for the integration of 'Mode 1' and'Mode 2' forms of knowledge production. I arguethat Mode 1 or disciplinary knowledge should besupplemented by Mode 2 socially distributedknowledge which would cause academics toengender community service which integratestheir research at universities and itsapplication in the broader community. In otherwords, a reflexive praxis needs to be chartedout on the part of academics which would notcause their service to be disengaged from thereal problems in society, but rather, opens uppossibilities for greater social relevance – amatter of 'Mode 2' supplementing 'Mode 1'.     

Political economy of higher education: comparing South Africa to trends in the world

Education is one of the major linchpins of economic, social and political development of any nation. Recent evidence suggests that higher education can produce both public and private benefits. Thus, the role of the state in making education policy, and funding education is indeed critical, and cannot be left to be determined by market forces alone. Nevertheless, the trend of inadequate government funding for universities, loss of autonomy, infrastructural decay, falling academic standards, politicization and privatization of education, etc. appear to be a worldwide phenomenon and not just restricted to the developing world. South African higher education shows much promise with respect to knowledge production and dissemination, to contributing to social equity, economic and social development and democracy, and to the development needs of the Southern African region and the African continent. However, higher education in South Africa is under considerable stress from domestic and international trends that are redefining the nature and role of public sector post-secondary education (PSE) institutions worldwide. The paper will outline the role of PSE in the knowledge economy and the impact of the neoliberal context on the evolution of higher education in South Africa and the world. Given the significant developmental implications of investment in higher education, the authors argue that relegating this important public policy issue to the market forces is likely to promote inequality in the society, along with negative consequences for socio-political stability, economic sustainability, and knowledge generation.     

Distinct pathways: tracing the origins and history of private higher education in South Africa

In much of the literature on the privatisation of higher education, it appears as both a relatively recent phenomenon, and one that is homogenous in its causes, forms and effects. Drawing on the case of South Africa, this study challenges these assumptions, suggesting that without a sense of the long history of private provision and its interwoven relationship with public higher education in that country, it is difficult to appreciate fully the effects of global and local dynamics. The paper draws on an empirical study conducted in 2001 to provide a historical sweep of private provision prior to 1990, before tracing the origins and history of contemporary cases. The analysis demonstrates that there are four distinct pathways to the establishment of private institutions, related to global pressures towards the marketisation and diversification of higher education. Distinct forms of private providers are shaped by the complex global, national and historical dynamics and relationships with the public higher education sector described.     

Towards sustainable internationalisation of higher education

This article engages with the question: what does the internationalisation of higher education in times of globalisation sustain and what should it sustain? We first consider, through literature on globalisation and Stier’s (Glob Soc Educ 2(1):1–28, 2004) work, limitations of currently prevalent perspectives on internationalisation in economic terms. We then offer a brief review of how sustainability is understood in higher education and articulate our own notion of educational sustainability. We flesh it out in reference to data reflecting ideas and activities constitutive of daily practices of internationalisation in one faculty of education. We contend that our sustainability frame of reference can expand opportunities to think critically about internationalisation and, more importantly, offers opportunities to see internationalisation in its complexity, and to re-think and reorder practices that are not in alignment with educational goals and values.     

Higher education research in South Africa: Achievements, conditions and new challenges

This paper provides a historical overview of the development of higher education research in South Africa by focusing on past achievements and conditions, and present and future challenges. An attempt is made to point out the changes in both the context and paradigm of higher education research. The authors illustrate how research foci and methods were shaped by the political agenda of the old South Africa, and highlight the issues which higher education currently and in the future will have to address as part of the transformation process of not only higher education, but of South African society as a whole.     

Aims of education in South Africa

The first part of this paper gives a historical account of the aims of education under Apartheid, and discusses the ideological success of Apartheid education. The second part argues that a significant discussion — that is one which could have some purchase on schooling policy and educational practice — of aims of education in South Africa is not possible at present because the historical preconditions for such a discussion are not satisfied. It is argued that Apartheid has generated a political perspective which is unsympathetic to a discussion of aims of education; that the dominance of a social engineering model of schooling distorts a discussion of aims of education; and that a shared moral discourse, which is a necessary condition for a significant discussion of aims of education, does not yet exist in South Africa.

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Zusammenfassung Der erste Teil dieses Artikels enthält einen historischen Bericht über Erziehungsziele unter dem Apartheidssystem und untersucht den ideologischen Erfolg dieser Apartheiderzichung. Im zweiten Teil wird erläutert, daß eine sinnvolle Diskussion — nämlich eine, die einen gewissen Einfluß auf die Schulpolitik und die erzieherische Praxis nehmen könnte — über Erziehungsziele in Südafrika zum gegenwärtigen Zeitpunkt nicht möglich wäre, da die historischen voraussetzungen für eine solche Diskussion nicht gegeben sind. Im weiteren wird ausgeführt, daß die Apartheid eine politische Perspektive erzeugt hat, die einer Diskussion über Erziehungsziele nicht förderlich ist, daß das herrschende Erziehungsmodell, das hauptsächlich der Strukturierung der Gesellschaft dient, eine solche Diskussion verzerrt und daß ein gemeinsamer moralischer Rahmen, der die notwendige Voraussetzung für eine sinnvolle Diskussion über Erziehungsziele ist, in Südafrika bisher noch nicht existiert.

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Résumé La première partie de cet article présente un exposé historique des objectifs de l'éducation sous l'apartheid et examine le succès idéologique de l'éducation de ce système. Dans la deuxième partie, on affirme qu'une discussion importante (c'est-à-dire qui aurait une certaine influence sur la politique et la pratique éducatives) sur les objectifs de l'éducation en Afrique du Sud n'est pas possible à l'heure actuelle attendu que les conditions préalables à une telle discussion ne sont pas remplies. On souligne que l'apartheid a engendré une perspective politique qui n'est pas favorable à une discussion sur les objectifs de l'éducation; que la dominance d'un modèle éducatif social manigancé fausse la discussion sur les objectifs éducatifs; et qu'un discours moral partagé, qui est le préalable à une discussion pertinente sur les objectifs de l'éducation, n'existe encore pas en Afrique du Sud.

     

高教大众化与高教结构调整

文章论述了我国高等教育大众化的根本目的,指出,企图仅依赖普通高校的扩招来实现我国高教大众化不仅不现实,也不能适应社会对多层次、多类型人才的需要。面对国际竞争,结合我国实际,应当发展多种形式的高等教育,高等职业技术教育就是其中重要的一种。     

Towards inclusive education: the case of Finland

The article examines the Finnish system of basic education and the means it employs to support good learning and healthy growth and development for all students. The excellent learning outcomes of the Finnish comprehensive school indicate that it is possible to develop a system with both quality teaching and learning, and equity and equality for students. Throughout the article, special needs education is seen as an important, but not dominant, aspect of Finland’s inclusive policies. The article concludes with five theses central to a working model of inclusive education.     

Towards a deconstructed curriculum: Rethinking higher education in the Global North

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to argue for the deconstruction rather than the decolonisation of the neocolonial curriculum. Globalisation facilitates the democratisation of higher education, which is now accessible to more people than ever before, but globalisation also facilitates the expansion of the ideological dominance of the Global North over the Global South by means of the neocolonial curriculum. Contemporary attempts to decolonise Global South curricula are proceeding very slowly. We propose an alternative, the deconstruction of the Global North curriculum, i.e. a radical change to the Global North curriculum that exploits the neoliberal imperative to maximise profit in order to undermine the neocolonial curriculum. We use two case studies – Frantz Fanon and Çi?dem Ka?itçiba?i – to demonstrate how the deconstruction of the Global North curriculum can be achieved, by the prioritisation of theory and practice that are sensitive to context.     

Sexuality education in South Africa: Three essential questions

Sex education is the cornerstone on which most HIV/AIDS prevention programmes rest and since the adoption of Outcomes-Based Education (OBE), has become a compulsory part of the South African school curriculum through the Life Orientation learning area. However, while much focus has been on providing young people with accurate and frank information about safe sex, this paper questions whether school-based programmes sufficiently support the needs of young people. This paper is based on a desk-review of the literature on sex and sexuality education and examines it in relation to the South African educational context and policies. It poses three questions: (a) what do youth need from sexuality education? (b) Is school an appropriate environment for sex education? (c) If so, what can be said about the content of sex education as well as pedagogy surrounding it? Through reviewing the literature this paper critically engages with education on sex and sexuality in South Africa and will argue that in order to effectively meet the needs of youth, the content of sexual health programmes needs to span the whole spectrum of discourses, from disease to desire. Within this spectrum, youth should be constructed as “knowers” as opposed to innocent in relation to sex. How youth are taught as well as how their own knowledge and experience is positioned in the classroom is as important as content in ensuring that youth avoid negative sexual health outcomes.