Another way to think about the work we do: counselling for work and relationship

Counselling for work and relationship is proposed as another way of thinking about vocational psychology and vocational guidance. It can contribute to the search for a new paradigm for these fields. Central to this way of thinking are two shifts. A shift from a discourse about career to a discourse about work, and a shift to expand the focus of attention beyond the occupational domain to include multiple social contexts of work and relationship across both occupational and personal domains of life. The ways in which these shifts are responsive to theoretical and social contexts is considered.     

Continuity and change: The teaching and research of Islam in South(ern) Africa

Abstract

Despite being minority religious communities in the Southern African region, Muslims have carved out for themselves a unique identity within a multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic, and a multi-religious region. As a result of the variety of Muslim education programs and institutions that the community had set up over the past few decades its representatives made an interesting contribution towards the region. In the discipline of ‘Islamic Studies’, which began as a minor subject within the field of Oriental and Missiological studies respectively at the beginning of the 1960s, underwent remarkable changes by the mid 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s when fully-fledged programs were designed and mounted at specific Southern Africa's universities. The continuities and changes that took place from the mid 1970s onwards were as a result of the growing interest in this discipline. The essay's objective is to discuss the study and research of ‘Islam’ undertaken by individuals in the Southern Africa with special focus on South Africa where there have been major developments in the Muslim educational circles for more than a half a century (circa 1960–2010); it, however, employs ‘identity’ as a significant analytical tool in scholarship and the production of knowledge about Islam within the Southern African context.     

Risky forms of knowledge: configuring pedagogical practices and their excesses in a sexuality education programme in South Africa

Within the context of sexuality education as an HIV prevention strategy, much attention has been given to what content should be taught and the effectiveness of that content in achieving desired goals. While some research has problematised how curricular content is understood or taken-up, what remains largely unquestioned is a pedagogical imaginary of knowledge as a fixed and stable object that can be transmitted from teacher to learner. This paper builds on feminist readings of pedagogy, and in particular the work of Elizabeth Ellsworth, to interrogate what might happen within sexuality education by thinking about knowledge as continually being made. Drawing on data from a year-long ethnographic research study conducted with loveLife, a national HIV prevention programme for young people in South Africa, the paper problematises the perceived boundaries of what is taught and explicitly engages the pedagogical approach as a constitutive part of what can/should/must be known as well as what kind of relation is offered to that knowledge. The question then is how sexuality education might be re-articulated to engage with ongoing and power-laden struggles within configurations of knowledge, and how a pedagogical approach might open those configurations to ways of knowing, and being known, that are more just for more people.     

The teaching portfolio in US teacher education programs: what we know and what we need to know

Teaching portfolios have become commonplace in the US in teacher education programs, in the process of granting an initial teaching license, in teacher recertification, and in National Board certification. This paper focuses on the use of teaching portfolios in preservice teacher education programs and analyzes the various ways in which portfolios have been conceptualized and implemented. A conceptual framework is proposed to enable researchers to describe the conditions of portfolio use. A presentation of the conditions of portfolio use will enable a greater understanding of the ways in which teaching portfolios impact teacher development and the quality of teacher assessments under different conditions of use. The paper concludes with a discussion of the key issues that have emerged in the use of teaching portfolios in preservice teacher education in the US.     

Patriotism and Democratic Citizenship Education in South Africa: On the (im) possibility of reconciliation and nation building

In this article, I shall evaluate critically the democratic citizenship education project in South Africa to ascertain whether the patriotic sentiments expressed in the Manifesto on Values, Education and Democracy (2001) are in conflict with the achievement of reconciliation and nation building (specifically peace and friendship) after decades of apartheid rule. My first argument is that, although it seems as if the teaching of patriotism through the Department of Education's democratic citizenship agenda in South African schools is a laudable initiative that can contribute toward establishing a definitive break with our apartheid past, the expression of blind patriotic sentiments (such as pledging allegiance to one's country and its citizens only) as articulated in the Manifesto can potentially marginalise others (immigrant communities) as the country endeavours to build its fledgling democracy. My second argument is that the intended democratic form of patriotism of the Department of Education can possibly be undermined by cultivating a culture of 'safe expression', which could slow down the country's quest for reconciliation and nation building.     

Argumentation in Science Teacher Education: The simulated jury as a resource for teaching and learning

In this article, we focus on the contributions that a simulated jury-based activity might have for pre-service teachers, especially for their active participation and learning in teacher education. We observed a teacher educator using a series of simulated juries as teaching resources to help pre-service teachers develop their pedagogical knowledge and their argumentation abilities in a physics teacher methods course. For the purposes of this article, we have selected one simulated jury-based activity, comprising two opposed groups of pre-service teachers that presented aspects that hinder the teachers' development of professional knowledge (against group) and aspects that allow this development (favor group). After the groups’ presentations, a group of judges was formed to evaluate the discussion. We applied a multi-level method for discourse analysis and the results showed that (1) the simulated jury afforded the pre-service teachers to position themselves as active knowledge producers; (2) the teacher acted as ‘animator' of the pre-service teachers' actions, showing responsiveness to the emergence of circumstantial teaching and learning opportunities and (3) the simulated jury culminated in the judges’ identification of the pattern ‘concrete/obstacles–ideological/possibilities' in the groups’ responses, which was elaborated by the teacher for the whole class. Implications from this study include using simulated juries for teaching and learning and for the development of the pre-service teachers’ argumentative abilities. The potential of simulated juries to improve teaching and learning needs to be further explored in order to inform the uses and reflections of this resource in science education.     

University teaching and social cohesion in the age of AIDS: A South African case study

In the context of ongoing social divisions, lack of coherent leadership by government, and even divisiveness over medical advances and public health mandates, how might universities respond? What university actions can support social cohesion in a society splintered by class, race, gender, colonial legacies, the history of apartheid, and HIV/AIDS? More specifically, what approaches to university teaching of HIV/AIDS might foster social cohesion? During 2006, I interviewed 22 instructors at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) at three campuses. The interviewees were faculty members in education, sociology, history, psychology, theology, gender studies, and theater. I observed numerous classes that focused on HIV/AIDS and interviewed approximately 40 undergraduate, honours (4th year), and graduate students. I found that the curriculum and teaching went beyond the technical, individualistic, rational, self-interested assumptions and approaches (such as how to distribute information and condoms) typical of much safe-sex education. The courses explicitly critiqued assumptions, beliefs, and stereotypes that contribute to social divisions and stigma. The teaching efforts consciously included cultural understandings, specifically Zulu cultural understandings of health, community responses, and individuals within communal relationships. The approaches explicitly connected HIV/AIDS with social divisions and inequities of power. The teaching promoted an awareness that public health initiatives (and church or counseling responses) are fraught and controversial. Thus, the teaching tried to place its own ideas within history and society, offering a post-colonial/critical understanding of knowledge, theories, and social “solutions.” In foregrounding social divisions in relation to AIDS, these programmes promoted a critical-edged social cohesion.     

The Draw-a-Scientist Test in an African context: comparing students’ (stereotypical) images of scientists across university faculties

Background: People’s perceptions of scientists have repeatedly been investigated using the Draw-a-Scientist Test (DAST). The test is used to identify people’s (stereotypical) images of scientists, which might affect attitudes towards science and science-related career choices.

Purpose: The current study has two goals. (1) Applying the DAST at a university in South Africa, the study will add to the existing research literature through its Southern African context. (2) The study will also look more closely at the link between (stereotypical) images of scientists and science-related career choices.

Sample: The DAST was applied to first-year students (n = 445) across different faculties at a South African university. If the assumption that young people’s perceptions of scientists influence their career choice is correct, one would expect differences in the drawings made by students who have opted for different fields of study.

Design and methods: The DAST was administered during orientation week of the first-year students in January 2017. Students were provided with a prepared blank sheet of paper and asked to draw a scientist and to fill in further information on the back of the paper. A content analysis applying the DAST checklist was used to analyse the images.

Results: The findings show that South African students use about four stereotypical indicators when drawing a scientist, and social science students drew stereotypical attributes more frequently when compared to students from other faculties. A typical scientist – as depicted in this study – is a man of uncertain age, who wears eyeglasses and a lab coat, and is surrounded by laboratory equipment.

Conclusions: Findings are largely in line with the international research literature. To challenge gender stereotypes, more contact between students and female role models might be essential. If (stereotypical) images really affect science-related career choices deserves further attention in future research studies.     

WhatsApp use among African international distance education (IDE) students: transferring,translating and transforming educational experiences

ABSTRACT

Much of the research on how social media is embedded into the educational practices of higher education students has a Western orientation. In concentrating on a case study of the varied ways in which African International Distance Education (IDE) students actively use social media to shape their learning experiences, we discuss an under-researched group. The paper draws on analysis of 1295 online questionnaires and 165 in-depth interviews with IDE students at UNISA, South Africa, one of the largest providers of IDE globally. WhatsApp emerges as ‘the’ key social media tool that opens up opportunities for IDE students to transfer, translate and transform their educational journey when studying ‘at a distance’. Although WhatsApp does provide a ‘space of opportunity’ for some students, this is framed through socio-technical marginalisation, itself a reflection of demographic legacies of inequality. Exploring social media practices though the case of African IDE students places these students centre stage and adds to the awareness of the multiple centres from which international education is practiced.     

历史与挑战：南非高等教育学科发展--以高等教育与成人教育研究中心为例

1961年南非成为一个独立的共和国后,南非高等教育研究开始发展。南非高等教育学科发展经历了一个历史变迁过程,南非通过在国家层面、院校层面开展高等教育研究,开设高等教育学科专业培养专业研究人员,助推南非高等教育学科的发展。南非高等教育学科发展尚面临诸多挑战。最后以斯坦陵布什大学的高等教育与成人教育研究中心所开展的工作为例,进行具体阐述。     

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'.     

从分化到整合:南非高校分类变迁的内在逻辑

以1994年废除种族隔离政策为分水岭,南非的高等学校分类体系经历了由分化到整合的治理逻辑变迁。1994年之前,南非政府以学生人种、教育属性、语言文化等为维度,将全国高等学校强行区隔,多轨运作,分而治之。1994年之后,南非新政府开始调整高等学校分类体系,以高校学术职能为中心,整合教育资源,致力于促进普通教育与职业教育的融汇贯通。南非的高等学校分类变迁史表明,高校分类必须尊重教育自身的发展规律,坚持政府在高等教育发展中的主导地位,同时保持不同类型高校的特色化、差异化发展。     

SCIIENCE: The creation and pilot implementation of an NGSS-based instrument to evaluate early childhood science teaching

This paper describes the development, testing and implementation of the Systematic Characterization of Inquiry Instruction in Early LearNing Classroom Environments (SCIIENCE). The SCIIENCE instrument was designed to capture best practices outlined in the National Research Council's Framework for K-12 Science Education as they occur within a science lesson. The goals of the SCIIENCE instrument are to (a) assess the quality of science instruction in PK-3 classrooms, (b) capture teacher behaviors and instructional practices that engage students in the lesson, promote scientific studies, encourage higher-level thinking, and (c) provide a feedback mechanism for guiding professional development of PK-3 teachers. Science educators can apply this instrument to teacher behaviors and use the data to improve classroom inquiry instructional methodology.     

Gender differences in South African men and women's access to and evaluation of informal sources of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information

While much research has documented unsatisfactory sexual and reproductive health (SRH) awareness among young people in South Africa, understanding of gender differences in access to and evaluation of SRH information is limited. This paper concerned itself with men and women's informal sources and content of SRH, and gendered divergences around accessibility, evaluation, and impact of such information. Fifty sexual history narrative interviews and twenty-five narrative interviews with women were conducted with participants purposively sampled from a range of ages, cultural and racial backgrounds, and in urban and rural sites across five provinces in South Africa. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. While young women were more likely to learn about SRH information from family members, they also reported greater regulation concerning their sexuality. This could enhance stigma surrounding women's sexuality and hinder open communication. Men predominantly learned about sex through pornography and peers, which was reported to encourage sexual prowess to the neglect of practising safer sex. Lack of adequate SRH instruction for young people as revealed through the narratives had significant and often negative implications for men and women's early safer sex behaviours. In response to these insights, recommendations are offered to strengthen informal sources of SRH awareness.     

The “A” factor: Coming to terms with the question of legacy in South African education

This paper attempts to offer an alternative framework for assessing education delivery in South Africa. Its purpose is to develop an analytic approach for understanding education delivery in South Africa in the last 11 years and to use this framework to pose a set of strategic questions about how policy might be framed to deal with delivery. The paper begins with a quick review of the country's achievements and challenges in education and shows that a failure to produce a high quality education system remains the country's primary challenge. The broad approach that is taken is to suggest that dominant approaches for understanding this lack of performance underplay the specificity of the country's context and specifically so its apartheid legacy. This legacy, it is argued, continues to be determinative in shaping, and accounting for the character of current social behaviour in the country, including the performance of children in schools.     

‘Instead of “closing down” at our ages … we’re thinking of exciting and challenging things to do’: older people’s microadventures outdoors on (e-)bikes

ABSTRACT

This paper explores how people aged 50 and over, who were returning to cycling as part of an 8-week health and well-being trial, created their own cycling microadventures. Applying a stage model of the process of adventure to qualitative data generated from personal diaries and focus groups, we examine how older people anticipated and prepared for their microadventures, the challenges and discoveries they experienced, the benefits they gained and how electrically assisted ‘e-bikes’ can provide further opportunities for adventure. We conclude that cycles are a mode uniquely placed to facilitate microadventures and that e-bikes, in particular, offer further potential to enable older people to (re-)connect with place and other people. But while this type of activity can provide benefits in terms of health and well-being, we argue that more supportive physical and social infrastructure is required to provide opportunities for more people to undertake microadventures close to their homes.     

Unpacking (white) privilege in a South African university classroom: A neglected element in multicultural educational contexts

Multiculturalism currently aims for the political accommodation of difference instead of the subversion of the resulting privileges of difference. In the South African context such a distinction is especially important since the economic and symbolic subjugation of the majority of Black South Africans continues despite political transformation, and is exacerbated by an unwillingness to reflect on privilege and inequality. Drawing on Biko and Soudien’s critique of multiculturalism and vision for anti-racist education, this paper describes a classroom activity set for 164 nationally and culturally diverse second year sociology students at a university in Cape Town, South Africa. The activity tasked students to reflect on texts by Peggy McIntosh and Khaya Dlanga (one canonical, the other contextual) and reports on these students’ nuanced understandings of personal biography, experiences of privilege and self-reflexivity that connects personal experience to social structure and historical contexts. It concludes by offering modest implications for moral education in a multicultural university classroom.     

The occupational commitment and intention to quit of practicing and pre-service teachers: Influence of self-efficacy, job stress, and teaching context

The purpose of the present study was to explore the occupational commitment and quitting intention of practicing and pre-service teachers. We used a cross-sectional survey design to examine the impact of teachers’ self-efficacy, job stress, and contextual factors on occupational commitment and quitting intention of 434 practicing teachers and 379 pre-service teachers. Results revealed that similar factors—self-efficacy, job stress, and teaching context—influence the occupational commitment and quitting intention of practicing and pre-service teachers. Pre-service teachers displayed higher levels of commitment and less overall stress than practicing teachers. We conclude the article with implications for theory and practice, and suggest avenues to extend this line of career stage research.     

Race,school choice and transfers to opportunity: implications for educational stratification in South Africa

This study investigates the links between race, school choice and educational stratification in South Africa. It focuses on racial differences in families’ efforts to take advantage of choice by transferring to opportunity (i.e., transferring to a school perceived to offer students better access to educational opportunity than their current school) and explores the implications of those transfers for emerging patterns of racial stratification in access to high quality schools. Findings reveal significant racial variation in transfers to opportunity and suggest a complex link between race and the ways in which historically disadvantaged groups have engaged with the post-apartheid educational opportunity structure.