OpenUCT :: Browsing by Author "Goodman, Suki"

Browsing by Author "Goodman, Suki"

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Open Access
A Success Case Method Evaluation of An Executive Coach Training Intervention
(2007) Beets, Karolyne Elizabeth; Goodman, Suki
This evaluation examines the extent to which 2005 and 2006 Associate Coaching Course participants have successfully applied the proximal outcomes from the executive coach training. Following the Success Case Method, a survey determined that the majority of participants rated their application of the learnings very successfully. A qualitative data analysis of eight interviews conducted with six high success cases (three professional coaches and three within-job coaches) and two low success cases, explored their application of the proximal outcomes in detail. The results report on various themes that describe how the coaches have applied the training, what results they have achieved and what value has come from the training. Further themes address factors that helped or hindered application and suggestions for training improvement. It can be concluded that the Associate Coaching Course was successful for this group of participants in that they report successful on-the-job application of the proximal outcomes and provide examples of positive results achieved due to this application. Furthermore, this evaluation contributes to a relatively scant literature concerning the application of the Success Case Method of evaluation.
Open Access
A Theory and Process Evaluation of the Umhlathuze Water Stewardship Programme of the International Water Stewardship Programme
(2019) Gautier, Estelle; Goodman, Suki
Water is a scarce resource without which human survival is at risk and major economies would collapse if not carefully managed. Water stewardship involves collaboration between role players from the public- and private sector as well as civil society to effectively mitigate some of the water related risks and improve water security. Good practice examples of water stewardship have been captured in only a limited number of international studies through the work of a few organisations driving adoption of stewardship practices. Most of these are internal documents and remain unpublished. There are a few local, unpublished studies that are specific to water stewardship as an approach to water resources management in South-Africa. A comprehensive literature review on water resource management institutions in South published between 1997 and 2011, shows that research is predominantly focused on catchment management agencies (CMA) than on other entities such as international water management bodies, water user associations or water irrigation boards (Meissner, 2013) The uMhlathuze Water Stewardship Programme (UWaSP) is a South African programme selected to evaluate if the programme has been established against globally recognised good practices of water stewardship and to what extent it has been implemented accordingly. The programme is part of an international water stewardship programme which provided an ideal opportunity to evaluate a local programme against a global good practice model. The international literature on water stewardship as well as literature on adaptive co-management approaches to water resources management enabled the development of a consolidated global good practice evaluation model of water stewardship. The research included consideration of contextual influences that may have enabled or hindered the implementation of the establishment of the water stewardship programme. The South African literature shows that a specific type of integrated water resources management ( IWRM) , catchment management associations (CMA’) share certain adaptive co-management elements with a water stewardship approach to water management. These include three concepts extracted from the literature namely collaborative stakeholder engagement, adaptation through learning (experimentation) as well as a bioregional approach to water resources management which means implementation of management structures at the river basin level (Meisner, 2016). The local contextual factors influencing implementation of the UWaSP and commonalities with CMA’s are considered during the discussion, against the background of the findings of local studies.
Open Access
Actuarial resources in high demand, what makes them stay?
(2018) Muzondo, Lyn Nyasha; Goodman, Suki
The shortage of qualified actuaries and actuarial science resources in general, remains a challenge for organisations operating in the South African financial and insurance sectors. Access to such resources are a business imperative for these organisations and, therefore, there is a compelling business case to better understand which total rewards elements contribute most to the retention of individuals that possess these critical and also scarce skills. Furthermore, it would seem that traditional strategies that are meant to retain actuaries and/or actuarial science resources are no longer effective and new and innovative approaches in terms of their design and implementation need to be found. The aim of the present study was, therefore, to investigate the retention of actuarial resources and identify the total rewards elements that will be most useful in creating the conditions that are conducive for them to stay within their respective organisations. Limited research in which the total rewards elements that may contribute most to the retention of actuarial resources, could be found. Greater insight in this area will hopefully enable organisations to develop reward policies and practices that are able to more effectively attract and retain actuarial resources. A descriptive research design and quantitative approach was employed to estimate the total rewards preferences of actuaries, in other words which reward elements they would prefer and that may be related to their intention to stay. Using a non-probability convenience sampling approach, primary data was collected by means of an online field survey (n = 135). The questionnaire that was used to collect data, included a total rewards sub-scale (21 items), a reward preferences sub-scale based on best-worst scaling (10 items), a job satisfaction subscale (6 items), an intention to stay sub-scale (4 items), an affective commitment sub-scale (6 items) and a single open-ended question, which was optional. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, assessing reliability using Cronbach’s alpha and conducting inferential statistics. The results of the factor analysis indicated that the total rewards dimensions do not influence intention to stay of the participants. Although job satisfaction and affective commitment were found to be significantly positively related to intention to stay, these variables were not found to mediate the relationship between total reward elements and intention to stay. The best-worst scaling results revealed that all participants considered remuneration and career advancement to be the most important total reward element for their intention to stay. For all generational groups, the bottom three reward elements (i.e. ranked) were learning opportunities, performance recognition and employee benefits, respectively. Traditional reward elements are important to employees with scarce skills. However, customizing reward preferences according to the generational preferences would enable an innovative approach to talent retention of actuarial resources.
Open Access
An analysis of the relationship between psychosocial safety climate and the work-school-interface for non-traditional students in South Africa
(2021) April, Kelly; Goodman, Suki
The growth of a country's economy is highly dependent on the levels of skills available in that country. South Africa has a stark shortage of skilled individuals due to an inadequate and failing education system (Horwitz, 2013). As a response to this problem the South African government actively incentivises organisations to develop the skillset of their employees in order to build a strong economy, improve job creation and promote social development (Department of Higher Education and Training, 2019). It is therefore important that all stakeholders involved yield a return on this investment. It is also a global phenomenon that an increasing number of fulltime employees are also engaging in formal further studies due to the rapid changes in the labour market. For example, advancements in technology have had a major impact on traditional business models and the roles, and skills needed. These employees are referred to as non-traditional students and are the subject of this study. Research shows that trying to manage both work and school simultaneously can cause psychological strain for non-traditional students (Adebayo et al., 2008). The psychosocial safety climate (PSC) is an emerging construct which refers to the shared perceptions regarding policies, practices and procedures designed to protect the psychological health of employees (Dollard et al., 2012). This study builds on existing research in the work - school interface by investigating its application within the South African context. Participants in this research (n=127), comprised of non-traditional students (n=40) and employees who are not engaged in further studies (n=87). Correlation analysis demonstrated that PSC had a positive relationship with work school facilitation (WSF) and a negative relationship with work school conflict (WSC). It was further confirmed that job control (JC) mediated the relationship between PSC and WSF and that PSC mediated the relationship between JC and WSF. These findings show that PSC is an antecedent to the work school interface in that it promotes the positive outcomes of studying while working (work school facilitation). It further demonstrates that PSC also reduces the negative outcomes (work school conflict). This study confirmed that the working environment plays a crucial role in the work school interface and introduces PSC as a construct South African organisations should be concerned with and make a priority, based on the resources it provides employees, more especially their non-traditional students. This study's findings will add to the existing body of research and provide practical insights for enhancing the PSC application within South African organisations who have non-traditional students.
Open Access
An Exploration of the Leadership Behaviours and Attitudes Employees Most Value During a Crisis: A Case Study of Academics in Remote Work During COVID-19
(2022) Josiah, Kelly; Goodman, Suki
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on organisations and the workforce, globally and in South Africa more specifically. This is true in many sectors, including that of higher education, where the economic, social, and psychological impacts of the pandemic are indisputable. However, it can be argued that organisational leaders have played a significant role in assisting employees to navigate the uncertainty of the events since March 2019. The primary aim of this research is to explore the leadership behaviours and attitudes most valued by academics at a residential university in South Africa. Secondary aims of the study focus on academics' experiences of well-being while working remotely during COVID-19. An exploratory case study design within the interpretivist paradigm was used, with academics at a residential university in South Africa as the case under study. Therefore, the unit of analysis is the individual. Purposive and snowball sampling strategies were adopted, and a total of 15 participants were interviewed. Inductive and deductive approaches were used to analyse the data using Braun and Clarke's (2006) six-step Thematic Analysis technique. Two primary themes emerged during analysis of the data: (1) human-centric leadership; and (2) self-care and self-management. Each primary theme had a number of associated secondary and tertiary themes. The results identified the leadership behaviours and attitudes that the sample found most valuable in the transition to remote working. Along with this, the various coping strategies used by academics in the sample are noted. For example, the sample expressed their appreciation for leaders who adapted their behaviour and attitude to suit the COVID-19 context. Participants appreciated human-centric leadership behaviours and attitudes that were kind and caring, taking into account academics' various realities. Further results demonstrate that academics employed coping strategies, such as healthy lifestyle choices to maintain their overall well-being and leveraged professional and personal support networks to effectively transition to the remote working context.
Open Access
An analysis of role stress and turnover intention
(2008) Abrahams, Eloise Magareth; Goodman, Suki
The primary purpose of the study was to analyse the relationship between role stress and turnover intention among registered professional nurses in three public academic hospitals in the Western Cape. It further examined the dimensions of role stress to establish a hierarchy of these variables as experienced by the sample population. Role stress comprised of the following dimensions: role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload, resources inadequacy, skills inadequacy and constant change.
Open Access
Assessing the effectiveness of the Academic Workload Allocation Model at a South African Business School
(2021) Arendse, Linzee; Goodman, Suki
Managing workload allocation to ensure fairness and equity amongst staff can be a challenge in any organisation and managing the workload allocation of autonomy seeking academic staff in a business school can be even more so. In this study, the researcher aimed to review a recently designed and implemented academic workload allocation model in a South African business school in order to establish whether the model and implementation system has been successful in contributing to actual and perceived fairness and equity in workload distribution amongst their academic staff. The researcher did this by using a sequential exploratory mixed methods approach, first reviewing documentary evidence, which informed the design of an online survey with the academic staff, followed by semi-structured interviews with a sample group. The study reveals that the model, and the way it was implemented and managed, failed to achieve its intended aims of increased equitable and fair workloads amongst academic staff. These implementation failures have resulted in negative consequences for the organisational culture. Staff satisfaction and engagement with the model, its implementation and management does not present positively in the findings of this study. In the South African context where there are very few studies related to academic workload allocation models, the results of this study may be valuable for higher education institutions considering the introduction or review of workload models amongst their academic staff. The study highlights the importance of an inclusive and careful design approach, change management considerations during the implementation phase, and the transparent management of the workload allocation process and results.
Open Access
Bridging distance between actual and potential development: a case of using ICT mediated consultation tool
(Springer, 2009) Ng'ambi, Dick; Goodman, Suki
It is an ongoing challenge in higher education context to design appropriate learning tasks for students that balances the diversity in student knowledge and variable skills with student's potential to learn under guidance. Obtaining feedback from students on what they know is made more complicated when students are passive during learning activities. In this paper we report on a project that ran over 2 years in which 67 students (28 in 2005; 39 in 2006) from culturally diverse socio-historical backgrounds used an anonymous knowledge sharing tool, the dynamic frequently asked questions (DFAQ) to engage with authentic learning tasks in an Organisational Learning Module. The module was part of the Organisational Psychology honours degree programme at a higher learning institution. The students used the DFAQ tool to consult with both peers and faculty staff. DFAQ is a special purpose web-based tool with a Short Message Services (SMS) interface. A thematic analysis was conducted on students' experiences gathered from focus group discussions. Artefacts from DFAQ are also analysed. The paper reports that DFAQ mediated the educator's access to the students' level of understanding and the potential to learn under guidance. The DFAQ tool therefore allowed the educator to provide students with appropriate guidance that met individual students' knowledge gaps. The paper concludes that DFAQ mediated access to the gap between actual and potential development, stimulated knowledge sharing, peer learning and impacted on pedagogical designs of learning tasks.
Open Access
A cut too deep? A qualitative enquiry into the experience of multiple organisational restructurings in the South African oil industry: a case study
(2017) Tooke, Janet; Goodman, Suki; Schlechter, Anton
This dissertation reports the findings of a study which sought to investigate the experiences of people who were exposed to multiple restructurings in the South African oil industry. Although there is a substantial amount of research on restructurings worldwide, an extensive review of available literature highlighted a dearth of research on multiple restructurings. Investigation of this research question was undertaken using a case study and qualitative research method. In-depth interviews of six employees of an oil company in South Africa were undertaken. Through these interviews, the personal experiences of employees who had been exposed to multiple restructurings were analysed. Similarly, interviews were undertaken with two members of senior management responsible for the implementation of a number of the restructurings. Their interview responses provided insight into the company's rationale for undertaking multiple restructurings. The results of the research indicated that distrust and cynicism grew amongst employees with repeated exposure to restructurings. The interview participants perceived that many remaining employees suffered from feelings of survivor's guilt and low morale and results indicated that the company did little to assist these employees to cope with these feelings. The research findings indicated that loss of corporate memory created role ambiguity and tension between departments as portfolios were redistributed amongst employees. Employee workloads were dramatically increased resulting in further stress and stress-related health problems, absenteeism and resignation. Participants of the research believed that the senior leadership team were ill-equipped to run a restructuring process and the employee consultation process appeared to do nothing to improve employees' trust in management. The results of this research highlighted the perception of the participants that repeated restructurings fail to achieve performance improvement at companies. Instead, the results indicated that repeated restructurings appear to lead to poor employee morale, resultant poor productivity and a high level of intention to quit. Companies should explore alternatives before embarking on a restructuring process as a first choice to alleviate cost pressures (Burke and Nelson, 1997; Von Krogh & Kameny, 2002). Where restructuring is inevitable, it is a recommendation of this research that training and counselling of remaining employees be given priority to assist with the management of stress and other symptoms of survivor sickness.
Open Access
D-Tree : examining the efficiency of a community case management mobile medical diagnostic tool
(2016) Schramm, Kai T; Goodman, Suki
D-Tree International's mission is "to develop and support electronic clinical protocols that enable health workers worldwide to deliver high quality care". They envision a world in which every person has access to high quality healthcare. To achieve this overarching goal D-Tree firstly, develops and validates clinical algorithms for use by health workers, secondly they design software for delivering these algorithms on mobile phones, and thirdly enable the effective use of these algorithms on a scalable basis. D-tree developed the electronic Community Case Management (eCCM) decision support tool for use by Health Surveillance Assistant's (HSAs) in Malawi for the care and treatment of acutely ill children under the age of five. This tool guides the HSAs through a clinical protocol to the correct diagnosis and subsequently treat, as such providing the HSA with a tool that can supplement lack of training, supervision and/or experience. The intervention they provide is supposed to lead to the following outcomes: (1) improved supervision of HSAs in the field, (2) accessible health records for HSAs, their supervisors and the Ministry of Health, (3) better follow up for the patients by HSAs due to accessible health records, (4) improved drug availability, and (5) improved protocol adherence by HSAs. The goals that D-Tree hopes to achieve by creating these outcomes are consistent provision of quality health care, and solidifying the trust between the people and their health care system. The final impact to be achieved are improved health outcomes. This is a formative evaluation aimed at the proximal outcomes of the D-Tree eCCM application.
Open Access
Death and dying what are the psychological consequences for Emergency Medial Care personnel in the Cape Town Metropole ?
(2012) Minnie, Llizane; Wallis, Lee; Goodman, Suki
Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.
Open Access
Developing a monitoring and evaluation framework for the mentoring component of the Principals Academy Trust
(2022) Kölzer, Joshua; Goodman, Suki
The Principals Academy Trust (PAT) is a non-profit organisation, whose programme is focused on improving the leadership competencies of school principals in poor and marginalised communities in South Africa largely through mentoring. While PAT collects quantitative data to monitor the performance of the schools in their programme, currently no data is collected to measure the extent to which PAT's mentoring efforts are positively impacting the schools' culture or climate. This study sought to develop an M&E framework for the mentoring component of the PAT programme. The M&E framework is informed by an extensive programme theory evaluation. The framework is designed to enable PAT to monitor and evaluate the potential changes in school climate and culture as a result of the mentoring component of the PAT programme. For the purposes of this study, Donaldson's step-by-step model for conducting a programme theory evaluation was merged with Markiewicz & Patrick's step-by-step guide on how to develop an M&E framework. The aim of this approach was to ensure that the results of the theory evaluation provide the foundation for the M&E framework. A combination of desk research, focus groups with PAT's programme staff and a number of semi-structured interviews with the head mentor and the fundraising consultant for PAT, was used to create the M&E framework. The results of the theory evaluation indicate that according to recent social science research in the field of education, the causality assumed in PAT's programme theory is plausible. The theory evaluation concludes that it is plausible to assume positive impacts on school culture and climate through systematic mentoring of school principals. The results of the development of the M&E framework are presented as a complete monitoring plan, evaluation plan, data collection and management plan, data analysis and synthesis strategy, learning strategy and implementation plan.
Open Access
Diversity awareness training : a quasi-experimental evaluation of changes in trainees' attitudes, knowledge and skills
(2006) Williams, Réjane; Goodman, Suki
A quasi-experimental evaluation was undertaken to measure the extent to which a I-day diversity awareness training programme resulted in changes in trainees' attitudes, knowledge and skills. A pre, post and post-post test design was employed. Changes in attitudes, knowledge and skills were measured using the Quick Discrimination Index (Ponterotto, et aI., 1995) as well as a Diversity Questionnaire developed by the researcher. Results show that immediately after the training intervention, increased levels of knowledge and skill were measured. However, three months after the training, no significant changes in trainees' attitudes and levels of knowledge and skill were found, leading to the conclusion that the training had no lasting effect. Amongst other things these results offered support for the proposition that factors in the work environment critically contribute to the sustainability of anticipated outcomes of diversity training programmes.
Open Access
Does belonging matter? Exploring the role of social connectedness as a critical factor in students' transition to higher education
(Psychology in Society, 2011) Pym, June; Goodman, Suki; Patsika, Natasha
Widening access to Higher Education throughout the world has meant an increase in the number of students who do not necessarily have the types of capital that universities require. This means an increasing need to engage with the issues that separate students from connecting with their modes and places of learning. This paper describes a successful Academic Development programme that is focused on equity students in the Commerce Faculty at the University of Cape Town (South Africa). The programme actively promotes academic and affective factors that will contribute toward affirming students' identity and developing a learning community. The paper reports on the results of a research project that combined qualitative and quantitative research methods to investigate how fostering social connectedness impacts on the transition of students to higher education and their academic performance.
Open Access
Does location matter? An investigation into the factors influencing employees' intention to stay in a multinational organisation
(2018) Sampson, Samantha Ann; Goodman, Suki; Hardy, Anneli
Globalisation and the skills shortage worldwide has increased the mobility of employees, and in turn, given employees access to more job opportunities globally. The mobility of employees makes employee retention more challenging than ever before. The topic of employee retention has been vastly researched over the years and human resource practitioners have identified multiple factors which influence employees’ intention to stay. This study focuses on six variables which were found to influence an employee’s intention to stay: job satisfaction, supervisor support, compensation, career advancement, work-life balance and affective commitment. The study assessed whether the factors which influence employees’ intention to stay differed between the locations of an international financial-technology organisation, Prodigy Finance. There are 98 participants in the sample. The data was collected via a selfadministered online survey. Results show that whilst the six variables do influence the employees’ intention to stay within the organisation as expected, the employees’ perception of work-life balance and compensation differed between locations. The employees’ perception of work-life balance in London and the employees’ perception of compensation in New York had more of on influence on their intention to stay, compared to the other locations. Suggestions for future research, limitations and other implications are discussed.
Open Access
Ethical reputation as an organisational choice indicator: effects of job seekers' gender, field of study and family income level.
(2020) Phaaroe, Mokabai; van Vuuren, Louis Jansen; Goodman, Suki
Recruiting and retaining top tier talent has increasingly become one of the few ways organisations can differentiate themselves from their competitors. In pursuit of the best talent for competitive advantage, an understanding of what job seekers want has become paramount to recruitment strategies. Given South Africa's heterogenous population make-up, the labour market consists of various groups of job seekers, each with unique characteristics that inform their organisational choices. To this end, the researcher sought to compare organisational choice decisions of different demographic groups of job seekers. Specifically, group comparisons in the consideration of ethical reputation as an organisational choice indicator, were made between job seekers of different genders, academic backgrounds and family income levels. Students registered at a metropolitan university in South Africa participated in a selfreport measurement instrument titled Organisational Choice Indicator (N = 330). Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed a four-dimensional construct for organisational choices in South Africa. Independent t-tests showed that job seekers from higher family income levels consider ethical reputations of organisations when choosing employers, more than their counterparts from lower family income levels. However, the test also indicated no significant differences between male and female job seekers, in the consideration of this indicator. Analysis of variance with planned contrasts revealed that in their job search endeavors, individuals with Humanities backgrounds consider how ethically reputable an organisation is, more than those with Engineering and Commerce backgrounds. Implications of these findings are presented, as well as suggestions for future research.
Open Access
Evaluating the University of Cape Town's Global Citizenship Programme
(2016) Goodier, Sarah; Goodman, Suki; Field, Carren
Global citizenship programmes are proliferating around the globe, particularly in the higher education environment. The increase in such programmes has resulted from the need to produce socially - responsible graduates equipped to handle the increasingly global, complex and diverse future. Many global citizenship service learning programmes utilise the engaged and critical pedagogy of Paulo Freire. This pedagogy facilitates students in engaging critically with a variety of perspectives and encourages them to think independently. The University of Cape Town's (UCT's) Global Citizenship Programme: Leading for Social Justice was implemented through the Centre for Higher Education Development at the university from 2010 onwards. This programme utilises Freire's critical pedagogy and provides UCT students with a guided, reflective opportunity to think about themselves in the context of the world and about global issues within their local context. An iterative cycle of learning, action and reflection underpins the each of the programme's three modules. Modules can be taken individually or in any order while a student is registered at UCT. The UCT Global Citizenship Programme is the evaluand for this evaluation. The evaluation process consisted of four parts, namely: theory, design, service utilisation and short - term outcome e valuations. As the programme had not been evaluated previously, the programme stakeholders were interested in working with the evaluator to articulate the programme theory, assessing it for plausibility and determining what design and pedagogy is used in other global citizenship programmes. Service utilisation was also of interest to the stakeholders and a process evaluation focusing on whether the programme is targeting and reaching its intended recipients was also undertaken. In addition, the evaluator explored possible short - term outcomes achieved by the GC2 module, to shed light on whether the programme is producing proximal outcomes with its current approach and pedagogy. This evaluation provided an articulated theoretical grounding for the GC Programme. The theory and design evaluation produced an articulated programme theory, from the perspective of the programme stakeholders, which was modified through consultation with the social science literature. The programme was found to be comparable to the majority of other such programmes in terms of its overarching design and pedagogy. The blended - learning approach in the GC Programme was found to be a unique feature compared with other global citizenship programmes. The process evaluation of the service utilisation found that the programme reaches a small proportion of its envisioned target population, despite two of the three modules having reached their maximum class size (~100 students). This is due to the current broad definition of the target population used, which effectively includes all UCT students. Females and students from the Commerce and Humanities faculties are over - represented in the programme when compared to the general UCT student population. A word cloud analysis for the short - term outcome e valuation indicated that it is possible that the programme participants may be achieving the outcomes for GC2. Due to the fact that there is limited evaluation research in the area of global citizenship programmes, this study makes a contribution to this research and evaluation area. The recommendations suggested in this study provide workable improvements that the GC Programme staff could make to this largely sound and popular programme. By taking, in particular, the recommended steps to measure outcomes, the GC Programme could provide a much stronger case for the impact of this well - conceived programme on UCT's students.
Open Access
An evaluation of a knowledge partnership - a review of the literature
(2011-06) Penfold, Erica; Goodman, Suki
Community interaction with universities forms part of the field of engaged scholarship, civic engagement or socially responsive interaction between universities and communities. This type of interaction yields a different form of knowledge production, as universities and communities engage at different levels and different projects develop out of this engagement. One such form of interaction is the science shop. The following literature review examines the theories of engaged scholarship and role of engagement between universities and communities, from an international and South African point of view. This will introduce the UCT Knowledge Partnership Pilot Project – UCT's first science shop – laying the foundations for a further evaluation of this project over the next two and a half years. Using a broad array of available literature, the following review will introduce a scholarly overview of the scholarship of engagement, community engagement and social responsiveness. In doing so, it will further lay the foundations for the investigation of the practical brokering model – a practical illustration and manifestation of the theories of engagement. One of the more popular forms of engagement in a university forum is the science shop. The core idea in writing this review is to explore the idea and principles of the science shop, in order to evaluate the creation of the UCT Knowledge Partnership Pilot Project. The review will identify the development of the science shop in Europe, North America and Australia, looking at how the shops operate, and how they have been successful or unsuccessful in past years. Having obtained this analysis, the Knowledge Partnership Pilot Project itself will be explained in broader terms, with added analysis and evaluation of science shops.
Open Access
An evaluation of a social context training programme for South African magistrates
(2008) Goodman, Suki; Louw-Potgieter, Joha
This study is an evaluation of the Law, Race and Gender (LRG) Unit’s social context training programme for magistrates (1998-2004). The programme was developed in the context of the political transition of 1994 and the promulgation of the new constitution. These factors created an impetus for the transformation of the justice system. Research suggests that the South African lower court system was plagued by discriminatory practices in relation to race and gender. Under apartheid magistrates were public servants and responsible for enforcing apartheid legislation. Their work demands changed after 1994, yet many members of the magistracy were ill-prepared for the new requirements of their job. The Law, Race and Gender Unit’s training programme was developed to increase magistrates’ awareness, knowledge and skills of the social context concerns of race and gender. The aim of the programme was to help magistrates deliver fair and equal justice to all of South Africa’s citizens. There are few published evaluations of social context training programmes for judicial officers specifically and judicial education interventions generally. This study aims to contribute to this relatively under-researched field. It is also the first study to apply Brinkerhoff’s (2003; 2006) success case method (SCM) to a judicial education training programme. The evaluation is designed according to Rossi, Lipsey & Freeman’s (2004) evaluation hierarchy. The study presents the method, results and discussion of evaluations across this hierarchy. The evaluations include an assessment of the needs identification process, analysis of the programme impact theory, appraisal of programme implementation and evaluation of programme outcomes. A variety of research methods and techniques were used in the different evaluations. These include document analysis, interviews and Brinkerhoff’s (2003; 2006) SCM. The results of the evaluation of the needs identification process suggest that the training need was not identified through a traditional systematic needs analysis. The LRG Unit was established and funded prior to any formal needs assessment. The lack of a comprehensive needs identification process had implications for the development of the actual training intervention. The theory evaluation uses social science research to critique the impact theory implicit in the programme and offers suggestions as to how the impact theory could be strengthened. The implementation evaluation concludes that the training programme was well delivered and received by the trainees and external evaluators. The results of the SCM outcome evaluation demonstrate that despite some of its limitations, the programme succeeded in enriching the education and social awareness of magistrates, which in turn enhanced their work and the way they served their communities and the ends of justice. The study is the first of its kind in that it offers a comprehensive, multi-levelled evaluation of a social context training intervention for judicial officers. It aims to contribute new knowledge to the area of judicial education programme evaluation.
Open Access
Exploring the transition: a case study of RPL students in a postgraduate programme
Brenner, Aimee; Goodman, Suki; Meadows, Alison
There has been a movement across South Africa's education sector to widen access and participation in higher education (HE). Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) programmes offer an opportunity to do so by providing access to HE to those who do not necessarily have the prerequisite requirements. There is still much to learn regarding RPL programmes and the unique needs and challenges of RPL students, as most of these programmes are still in the pilot stage. This study is specifically concerned with the transition of RPL students into postgraduate HE, as little research has been conducted on this topic. To gain a deeper understanding of RPL student transition, the researcher followed a case-study approach in which the experiences of RPL students enrolled in an online postgraduate diploma programme in management in marketing (PgDipMM) at a South African university were investigated. The programme piloted a novel RPL assessment and selection process which aimed to address criticisms of previous models. Qualitative data was obtained through eight open-ended, in-depth interviews with RPL students enrolled in the programme. Using a thematic analysis approach, nine key themes were identified as possible mechanism that facilitated RPL students' successful transition into the postgraduate diploma and six themes that did not. Findings indicated that, to a large extent, the novel RPL assessment and selection process appeared to have facilitated RPL students' successful transition into a postgraduate diploma through technical preparation and building students' confidence in their abilities. Possible enablers and barriers to RPL students' successful transition were also identified and discussed. In short, the enablers included learner maturity, transference of prior knowledge and skills, social support, sense of belonging, access to effective resources and financial security. Conversely, the barriers included academic difficulties, under preparedness for the intensity of HE and time restrictions. The study had theoretical and practical implications in that it contributed to our understanding of RPL student transition to HE and provided suggestions for ways in which their successful transition can be facilitated

Browsing by Author "Goodman, Suki"

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