Browsing by Subject "knowledge"
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- ItemOpen AccessAccess to Knowledge in Africa: the role of copyright(2010) Armstrong, Chris; de Beer, Jeremy; Kawooya, Dick; Prabhala, Achal; Schonwetter, TobiasThe emergence of the Internet and the digital world has changed the way people access, produce and share information and knowledge. Yet people in Africa face challenges in accessing scholarly publications, journals and learning materials in general. At the heart of these challenges, and solutions to them, is copyright, the branch of intellectual property rights that covers written and related works. This book will help educators identifying challenges for learning materials access posed by copyright laws in Africa. Some solutions as to how to overcome these challenges are provided.
- ItemOpen AccessAdopting research data management (RDM) practices at the University of Namibia (UNAM): a view from researchers(2019) Samupwa, Astridah Njala; Kahn, MichelleThis study investigated the extent of Research Data Management (RDM) adoption at the University of Namibia (UNAM), viewing it from the researcher’s perspective. The objectives of the study were to investigate the extent to which RDM has been adopted as part of the research process at UNAM, to identify challenges encountered by researchers attempting to practice RDM and to provide solutions to some of the challenges identified. Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory was adopted for the study to place UNAM within an innovation-decision process stage. The study took a quantitative approach of which a survey was used. A stratified sample was drawn from a list of all 948 faculty members (the number of academics taken from the UNAM annual report of 2016). The Raosoft sample size calculator (Raosoft, 2004) states that 274 is the minimum recommended sample size necessary for a 5% margin of error and a 95% confidence level from a population of 948, and this was the intended sample size. A questionnaire administered via an online web-based software tool, SurveyMonkey, was used. A series of questions was asked to individuals to obtain statistically useful information on the topic under study. The paid version of SurveyMonkey was used for analysis while graphics and tables were created in Microsoft Excel. The results of the study showed that for the group that responded to the survey, the extent to which they have adopted RDM practices is still very low. Although individuals were found to be managing their research data, this was done out of their own free will; this is to say that there was no policy mandating and guiding their practices. The researcher placed most of the groups that responded to the survey at the first stage of the innovation-decision process, which is the information stage. However, librarians who responded to the survey were found to be more advanced as they were seen to be aware of and engaged in knowledge acquisition regarding RDM practices. Thus, the researcher placed them at the second stage in the innovation-decision process (Persuasion). Recommendations for the study are based on the analysed data. It is recommended, among others, that UNAM should give directives in the form of policies to enhance the adoption of RDM practices and this should be communicated to the entire UNAM community to create awareness regarding the concept of RDM.
- ItemOpen AccessBeyond social constructivist perspectives on assessment: the centring of knowledge(Taylor & Francis, 2008) Shay, SuellenOver the past few decades assessment has been heralded for its key role in the improvement of teaching and learning. However, more recently there have been expressions of uncertainty about whether assessment is in fact delivering on its promised potential. Against this backdrop of uncertainty and circumspection this paper offers a critical reflection on higher education assessment discourses with a particular focus on the discourse of criterion referenced assessment. The central argument is that while the social constructivist perspective has significantly illuminated our understanding of assessment, inadvertently the very object of assessment-knowledge has been eclipsed. I propose that a fruitful way forward for our assessment practices is the centring of disciplinary forms of knowledge as an explicit component of the object of our assessment. Drawing on sociologists of education - Basil Bernstein and Karl Maton - I stake out some of the theoretical ground for reconceptualising the relationship between knowledge and assessment.
- ItemOpen AccessConceptualizing curriculum differentiation in higher education: a sociology of knowledge point of view(Taylor & Francis, 2012) Shay, SuellenSociologists of education rooted in social realism have for more than a decade argued that knowledge matters in education, there are different kinds of knowledge, not all forms of knowledge are equal and that these differentiations have significant implications for curriculum. While this argument has made an important contribution to both theoretical and policy debate, the implications for curriculum have not been sufficiently addressed. In other words, a theory of differentiated knowledge has not translated into an adequate theory of differentiated curriculum. Drawing on Basil Bernstein's work on knowledge differentiation and Karl Maton's Legitimation Code Theory, this paper offers an empirically derived emerging framework for conceptualizing differentiated higher education curricula with a particular interest in occupationally and professionally oriented curricula. The framework illuminates the principles underlying curriculum differentiation, thus enabling a richer conversation about epistemological access and progression.
- ItemOpen AccessContextualisation of instructional time utilising mobile social networks for learning efficiency: a participatory action research study for technical vocational education and training learners in South Africa(2020) Dzvapatsva, Godwin Pedzisai; Roodt, SumarieDespite the fact that some studies have shown a connection between learning efficiency and instructional time, there is lack of research that has been carried out within the Technical Vocational Education and Training sector with a particular focus on National Certificate Vocational programmes. To fill this gap, the current study utilised WhatsApp, an instance of a Mobile Social Network, in extending instructional time beyond the normal lecturing timetables with the objective of improving learning efficiency for NCV learners studying Computer Programming as a subject. To achieve the objective, a pragmatic approach was adopted in carrying out a participatory action research project. Qualitative data and quantitative data were collected concurrently in three phases using semi-structured interviews, questionnaire and documents. Thematic analyses and statistical analyses were applied to the data collected from five colleges in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The findings of the study highlighted multiple issues: Firstly, awareness of instructional time phenomena was very minimal from the lecturers and the learners. Secondly, there were no formal interventions in place to recover or extend instructional time beyond the traditional college boundaries. In overall, the implementation of WhatsApp was well-supported at the five locations. However, statistical results from the five locations after implementation of the intervention were mixed. Results indicated an overall pass rate of 69.2% (n=54) of the total number of learners (N=78) who sat for the final examination. While pass rates at each of the other four locations was above 50%, the pass rate of the fifth location was considerably low (37%). The study generated three contributions to knowledge: practical, theoretical and methodological. Firstly, through the study, practical interventions were generated to assist learners outside the classes. Secondly, the thesis generated propositions from data and an integrated Mobile Social Network framework was developed which is expected to be a useful course of action for lecturers who want to improve learning efficiency through extending instructional time. A key methodological contribution has been the application of mixed methods choices in the collection, analyses of data and interpretation of results.
- ItemOpen AccessCurriculum formation: a case study from History(Taylor & Francis, 2011) Shay, SuellenDrawing on the work of Bernstein and Maton and using a case-study approach, this study explores the formation of an undergraduate history curriculum at the University of Cape Town. This article focuses on two periods of curriculum formation referred to as history as canon and history as social science. With respect to these two curriculum periods the findings reveal the privileging of different kinds of historical educational knowledge, as well as the promotion of different student identities. The article also argues for the need for a more fine-grained conceptual framework for the study of knowledge and curriculum in higher education. The article concludes by highlighting the importance of this kind of research as pressure for curriculum reform intensifies in South Africa.
- ItemOpen AccessDistinguishing the field of educational technology(Academic Publishing Limited, 2008) Czerniewicz, LauraDrawing on what researchers and professionals in the field internationally report, this paper reviews educational technology as an emergent field. The review reveals the continuum of perspectives on what the field is, and how it is bounded or fragmented. The paper describes the field from two perspectives: the professional and scholarly and considers how the forms of knowledge differ and overlap in each domain. It posits some dichotomies which may frame the field such as science/social science and positivist/post-modernist. Finally the paper provides conceptual frameworks for distinguishing fields from each other and suggests what the categorisation of the field might mean, especially considering its emergent status in a rapidly changing context.
- ItemOpen AccessEducational development as a field: are we there yet?(Taylor & Francis, 2012) Shay, SuellenThis paper contributes to the critical engagement about educational development and its status as a field. The critique focuses in particular on our knowledge and the nature of our knowledge-building. The paper argues that unless we strengthen our knowledge base we will not emerge as a professional field able to engage rigorously and systematically with the problems of higher education. Drawing on social realist work that builds on the ideas of Basil Bernstein, a framework is offered for conceptualizing knowledge differentiation and the implications of different types of knowledge for knowledge-building. The paper concludes with suggestions on how educational development might strengthen its knowledge-building capacity.
- ItemOpen AccessEducational technology - mapping the terrain with Bernstein as cartographer(Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2010) Czerniewicz, LauraThis paper uses the literature of educational technology as the site of analysis in order to map the field of educational technology. Having considered Kuhn and Bourdieu's theories, the paper frames the analysis of the field in Bernsteinian terms as a horizontal knowledge structure in a vertical knowledge discourse. Using the concepts of interacting discursive planes, the paper maps the field in terms of its general approach planes and its problem planes. Finally, the paper shows that researchers in the field themselves acknowledge its weak grammar, and calls for commensurability of approaches to be acknowledged in order for robust knowledge to be developed and the legitimacy of the field to be enhanced.
- ItemOpen AccessThe impact of two modules on first year occupational therapy students’ knowledge and attitudes to the core constructs of occupation(2015-04) Green, Caryn; Hudson, Kerry; Wicht, Minkateko; Willows, Claire; Buchanan, HelenIntroduction: The first year occupational therapy course at the University of Cape Town focuses on developing an understanding of occupation. Two first semester modules form the foundation for this understanding. This study aimed to describe the impact of these modules on first year students’ knowledge of, and attitudes towards, the core constructs of occupation. Methodology: A pre-experimental one-group pre-test post-test design was used with a convenience sample recruited from the 2013 first year occupational therapy class. A self-administered questionnaire was developed for the study based on an extensive literature review and consultation with international occupational therapy experts. Data were gathered before and after participating in the modules. Content and construct validity, test-retest and inter-rater reliability were determined using the expert panel and a pilot test. Data were analysed with STATISTICA. Results: Forty-five (N=60) participants completed pre-test and post-test questionnaires and were included in the analysis. Knowledge improved significantly (p<0.001) between pre-test and post-test, and positive attitudinal changes were noted. Conclusion: Knowledge and attitudes improved after completing the modules suggesting that students were equipped with a sound foundational understanding of the core constructs of occupation.
- ItemOpen AccessThe association between nutrition and physical activity knowledge and weight status of primary school educators(2014) Dalais, Lucinda; Abrahams, Zulfa; Steyn, Nelia P; de Villiers, Anniza; Fourie, Jean M; Hill, Jillian; Lambert, Estelle V; Draper, Catherine EThe purpose of this study was to investigate primary school educators' health status, knowledge, perceptions and behaviour regarding nutrition and physical activity.Thus, nutrition and physical activity knowledge, attitudes, behaviour and risk factors for the development of non-communicable diseases of 155 educators were assessed in a cross-sectional survey. Height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure and random glucose levels were measured. Twenty percent of the sample had normal weight (body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) < 25), 27.7% were overweight (BMI> 25 to < 30) and 52.3% were obese (BMI < 30). Most of the participants were younger than 45 years (54.2%), females 78.1%, resided in urban areas (50.3%), with high blood pressure (> 140/90 mmHg: 50.3%), and were inactive (48.7%) with a high waist circumference (> 82 cm: 57.4%). Educators' nutrition and physical activity knowledge was poor. Sixty-nine percent of educators incorrectly believed that eating starchy foods causes weight gain and only 15% knew that one should eat five or more fruit and/or vegetables per day. Aspects of poor nutritional knowledge, misconceptions regarding actual body weight status, and challenges in changing health behaviours, emerged as issues which need to be addressed among educators. Educators' high risk for developing chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) may impact on educator absenteeism and subsequently on school functioning. The aspects of poor nutrition and physical activity knowledge along with educators' high risk for NCD development may be particularly significant not merely in relation to their personal health but also the learners they teach.