Upload
lycong
View
222
Download
1
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
PROJECT: EAP 75
ENGLAND-AFRICA PARTNERSHIPS IN HIGHER EDUCATION
SUPPORTING ACCELERATED AND SHARED GROWTH IN SOUTH AFRICA
REPORT ON THE RESEARCH ON FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING (FET) COLLEGES IN SOUTH AFRICA
April 2008
Prepared by Volker Wedekind
This document is an output of the EAP (England-Africa Partnerships in Higher Education) project funded by the UK Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) for the benefit of the African Higher Education
Sector. University partners in the project are the University of Nottingham, the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal and the University of the Western Cape. The views expressed are not necessarily those of DIUS, British Council or
the Universities concerned.
1
2
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction
Knowledge Production
Historical and Policy Research
Knowledge and Curriculum
Lecturers, Students and Management
Conclusion
References
3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report reviews the available research literature on the South African Further Education
and Training (FET) Colleges. Firstly, the institutions and individuals involved in the
production of the research are discussed. Since the early 1990s the research on technical and
vocational education and training has been dominated by the Human Sciences Research
Council (HSRC) and a few other NGOs and individuals. There are very few researchers
based in universities. While the people working in the field have been highly productive, it is
a very small grouping and the research agendas have been driven by the funding imperatives.
Three thematic areas are discussed. Firstly, historical and policy research on the colleges.
While there is limited historical analysis, there is significant contemporary policy analysis
available. The analysis focuses on the reform process, the dual responsibilities of the
Departments of Education and Labour, and the tensions inherent in the system. The second
thematic area focuses on knowledge and the curriculum. There is only a handful of studies
that examine the complex issue of knowledge in the technical and vocational field and how
this is translated into curriculum. The issue of a vocational pedagogy is hardly addressed at
all. The third thematic area focuses on the institutions themselves and the people (lecturers,
students, managers and councilors) in them. Again, there is limited research available that
provides a nuanced view into the colleges and what makes them function or not function. The
picture of who works and studies in the colleges, what motivates them, how they see
themselves and where they go when they leave, remains opaque. The most developed aspect
of this work relates to the management of colleges in the context of transformation.
The report concludes by outlining the strengths and gaps in the available work. It is argued
that the sector needs to be strengthened by developing an institutional base that is not
dependent on external funding (in universities and within the colleges), that there needs to be
a shift away from the technicist-managerial orientation of the bulk of the current research by
looking at the intersections between policy, context and critique, and finally, by focusing
more closely on the practice in the colleges, in terms of management, learning, teaching and
governance.
4
REPORT ON THE RESEARCH INTO FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING (FET) COLLEGES IN SOUTH AFRICA
INTRODUCTION
This report reviews the available literature on Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges
in South Africa. It attempts to outline the key trends in the literature over the past decade and
discusses the knowledge production networks that exist in South Africa and internationally
that have generated the published (and ‘grey’ literature where this is available). In addition,
the report has drawn on the growing body of knowledge contained in the unpublished work
of post graduate students that is housed in university libraries. This report is limited to the
policy studies, institutional studies, curriculum studies and professional studies related
specifically to FET colleges. Clearly the colleges are part of a wider system of technical and
vocational education and form part of a larger human resource development agenda that is
linked in with the economic policies of the South African state. There is a related literature on
skills, skills shortages, skills development, SETAs, and employment and unemployment that
is directly relevant to this field (readers are referred to Archer 2007; Daniels 2007). However,
for purposes of this report, the focus is restricted to the colleges, the college curriculum, and
those that are in them: the students, lecturers and managers.
The report discusses the key agents and agencies in the production of knowledge on the FET
colleges. The available literature is then discussed in three broad thematic areas. These are:
firstly, historical and policy overviews of the sector; secondly, knowledge, curriculum and
the curriculum reform in the sector; and finally, research that focuses on the lecturers,
students and management in the colleges. The report concludes with a section that discusses
key gaps and future directions.
5
KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION ON FET COLLEGES
The research on FET colleges and technical and vocational education in South Africa is
produced by a relatively small group of researchers and is comparatively underdeveloped.
Nonetheless, it is a growing field and there is evidence of increasing numbers of writers
entering the field from a diverse range of institutions. However, while there are signs of
growth, there is also a great deal of fragility because so much of the research has been
commissioned and is thus dependent on the vagaries of funding cycles.
Two now largely defunct centres for research have historically contributed the largest body of
available research on the college sector. The most significant of these are the researchers
associated with the Human Resource Development (HRD) section of the Human Sciences
Research Council (HSRC). The work of these researchers constitutes the biggest single body
of research on the college sector and has had a significant influence on the policy terrain
since the 1980s and the De Lange Commission report through to the present day. While the
apartheid era HSRC research was commissioned by government, the post-apartheid HSRC
has largely produced research commissioned by various donors and funding agencies. This
constitutes a large body of research that must form the baseline for any discussion on
research in the FET sector, both public and private (see for example Akoojee 2005; Akoojee
et al 2005; Akoojee et al 2008; Cosser et al 2003; Gamble 2003; Kraak and Hall 1999; Kraak
and Perold 2003; Kraak and Press 2008; McGrath et al 2004; Odora-Hoppers 2000; 2001;
Young and Gamble 2006).
The HRD section has recently been restructured and no longer exists as a distinct entity and
almost all the researchers listed above have left the HSRC. The reasons for this are varied,
but the pressure to secure funding for projects made the sustainability of the work difficult to
ensure. Nevertheless, a number of researchers associated with the HSRC are working from
other institutional bases or as independent consultants inside and outside South Africa and
continue to publish in this area (eg Azeem Badroodien, Andre Kraak, Jeanne Gamble and
6
Simon McGrath). The HSRC Press continues to publish research reports, books and
collections of articles on the sector even though the authors are no longer with the HSRC.
The second significant research unit that generated research on the sector is the National
Business Initiative (NBI). The NBI played a lead role in developing a quantitative data set on
the college sector that remains the key data source for most researchers. The work was
commissioned by the Department of Labour and funded via the Joint Education Trust (JET).
Like the HSRC, this work appears to have ended and the NBI is no longer doing research on
the sector. There is thus a significant loss of institutional capacity and a loss of continuity in
the work on the sector that could have a negative effect on future work. For example, since
the NBI stopped working on the FETMIS data there appears to have been no other work done
that monitors the system at a quantitative level.
The second largest body of literature is the research, evaluation work and technical reports
produced by or for NGOs, donors (for example DANIDA, GTZ, USAID and the British
Council) and government departments (see for example Badroodien and McGrath 2003;
Gamble 2003; Badroodien 2006; Kraak et al 2000; Maja, 2000). But even in these cases, the
work has been carried out by many of the individuals associated with the HSRC.
International development agencies such as DANIDA and GTZ have played a significant role
in supporting innovation in the college sector and developing capacity. Many of their
projects, such as DANIDA’s Support to Education and Skills Development (SESD)
programme, have been monitored and evaluated, thus providing a valuable research resource.
However, grey literature of this nature is not always readily accessible and there is thus a risk
that valuable research data will disappear as it has not been formally published in all
instances.
South African statutory bodies such as Umalusi and the SAQA have also commissioned and
carried out research focusing on the FET sector in terms of their mandates. Umalusi in
particular has an internal research unit that produces and publishes research reports on
various aspects of quality assurance (see for example Umalusi 2007a and 2007b). Individuals
associated with Umalusi (notably Stephanie Matseleng Allais) have also produced work in
7
their personal capacity that engages theoretically with the nature of the qualification
framework and the consequences of outcomes based education for the sector (see Allais
The HSRC and NBI associated researchers aside, there is a limited number of individuals
publishing on the FET college sector or technical and vocational education. While there are a
few university based academics writing on the FET College sector (see for example Bisschoff
and Nkoe 2005), there is only one dedicated university linked unit focusing on FET at
present, the FET Institute based at the University of the Western Cape. There are some
research units that have an interest in the sociology and economics of work that do research
related to the technical and vocational sector, but this is not a core focus area. There are no
departments of technical and vocational education within faculties of education, although the
School of Adult and Higher Education at UKZN includes FET Colleges as a focus area and
the University of Witwatersrand is leading a process towards the establishment of a research
centre dedicated to the sector.
Finally, there is a growing number of dissertations being produced at various universities in
South Africa that focus on FET colleges. The theses surveyed for this report were produced at
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, North West University, Tshwane University of
Technology, University of Cape Town, University of Free State, University of Johannesburg,
University of Pretoria, University of South Africa, and the University of the Western Cape.
These theses emanate from diverse disciplines and topics range from studies on learner
achievement (Baloyi 2004; Kiewiets 2006; Shongwe 2004), student support systems (Ferreira
2002), dealing with disability (Fourie 2007), pedagogy (Edwards 1999; Ferreira 2005),
management (Mafaralala 2006; Manota 2003; Mohlokoane 2004; Ncono 2006; Selebaleng
2005; Steyn 2006), evaluations (Barnes 2004), staff development (Geel 2005; Phutsisi 2006),
curriculum development (Fester 2006; Tsolo 2006; Jacobsz 2004; Smith 2006), assessment
(Kazen 2005) and policy (Sooklal 2005). Some of these are produced by managers or
educators within the FET College sector and thus they represent an important and growing
internal capacity for research within the sector. Methodologically, many of these dissertations
are case studies or perception studies. However, the wide range of topics and the spread of
institutions also suggests that there is no critical mass located in any one institution, and there
is very little focus to the work. Indeed, the fact that the research is focused on FET colleges
does not necessarily mean that it is located within the field of technical and vocational
8
education and much of it is supervised by academics with no background in the field. Most of
the theses surveyed showed little sign of being located within the local or international
literature on colleges and thus there is little evidence of the field being strengthened.
It is clear that there is a growing interest in the college sector as a site for research in South
Africa. In addition to the work mentioned already, UWC has established an FET Institute, the
Faculty of Education at UKZN has a masters programme focusing on the FET sector and is
discussing the establishment of a unit, and University of Witwatersrand is spearheading
discussions around the establishment of a national centre on technical and vocational
research. Statutory bodies such as SAQA and Umalusi have ongoing research work on
aspects of the sector as well. These initiatives bode well for a growing and diversified
national capacity for research in the sector. However, the university based initiatives are in
their infancy and to date the research on the sector has been primarily driven by the
imperatives of funders and the need to address immediate policy related questions.
Consequently, with a few exceptions, there is a dearth of any theoretical engagement with
issues of vocational education, learning and teaching in colleges and the relationship between
colleges and the world of work with which they are supposed to be connected.
The following sections explore some of the key themes that are addressed in the literature,
and also outline areas that appear underdeveloped and requiring more work.
HISTORICAL RESEARCH AND POLICY OVERVIEWS
While the FET Colleges in their current form are a relatively recent development emerging
from the reforms to the education system post-Apartheid, they are bound to a longer history
of more than 100 years of technical and vocational education institutions in South Africa.
Thinking about vocational education was found in both the white colonial system and in the
work of leading black intellectuals such as John Dube and the establishment of Ohlange
College in Durban in 1907. More recently, the SA technical college sector developed
9
alongside a model of practical apprenticeship to provide the theoretical component to
training. The increased black access to skilled and semi-skilled work in the 1980s brought
about a wave of new colleges to cater for black South Africans. By 1994, there was a mixture
of historically-white autonomous institutions and less autonomous historically-black urban
colleges, ex-homeland colleges and lower level training centres which needed to be placed
under a unified system of common governance and finance.
The history and development of technical and vocational education has most recently been
summarised by Azeem Badroodien and Peter Kallaway (2003/4). Indeed Badroodien’s work
represents the most detailed historical engagement with the field, with his doctorate providing
a detailed study of one institution (Badroodien 2001; see also Chisholm 1989) and his
overviews providing insightful summaries of the development of the sector (Badroodien
2003). The value of historical research is identified by Gamble (2003: p.11) in terms of
curriculum planning and reform which she argues ought to be informed by an adequate
perspective on the curriculum of the past. She argues that an historical perspective reveals
three traditions of educational provision in the technical and vocational sector: technical,
vocational and industrial. These three forms have converged into two pathways – one that
keeps knowledge and skill together while the other separates skill from its knowledge base.
She argues that an historical lens can warn us of the dangers of overemphasising the
integration of knowledge and skills.
Gamble’s illustration of the usefulness of historical work for thinking about contemporary
issues points to a significant area of further development. Historical examination of the
influences from the past on institutional form and curriculum, historical patterns and
relationships, and examination of the substantial policy research carried out by the HSRC
under Apartheid warrant further investigation. In addition, with the exception of the report on
technical and vocational education in Africa and some comparison with the UK (see McGrath
et al 2005, Young 2006) there is almost no comparative education research, which is a real
gap given that so much of the policy is borrowed or influenced by practices elsewhere.
10
The picture of policy studies research and contemporary history is a happier one. There are a
number of overviews of recent policy developments in the FET sector. For example, Gewer
(2001) outlines the developments from 1990 to 2000. He describes the complexity of the
band which includes the senior secondary school, FET colleges and a host of private
providers. A central feature of the decade he reviews is the challenge of transforming the FET
Colleges into the key drivers of the system so as to respond to macro strategies for human
resource development and skills development strategy of Department of Labour. Gewer
argues that at the college level, the major challenges were to do with this immense delivery
pressure compounded by lack of cohesion in the policy environment. The guiding policy
frameworks were rooted in traditional partitions across levels of the system, consequently
impacting on the capacity to transform. The historical divisions between education and
training have been perpetuated notwithstanding attempts to bridge this division.
High fragmentation at both curriculum and institutional levels existed and the
institutionalized historic education and training divide still pertains, with the matriculation
certificate continually being viewed as the major indicator of performance. The formal school
system was trying to address this backlog from apartheid education and at the same time also
improving the delivery system. Technical colleges, due to their smaller enrolments, received
reduced national publicity, exposure and government attention and, consequently, in trying to
operationalise policies, there was evident lack of balance between expectations and realities.
Between 1998 and 2000 there was a lot of activity around FET following the Green and
White Papers and, with the promulgation of FET legislation in 1998, DoE through its
National Strategy for Further Education and Training 1999-2001 stipulated time frames for
action. Notwithstanding, delays in goal realization with the national strategy, it clearly
showed the crucial role that FET was expected to play in meeting government delivery
imperatives in skills development and employment creation. Gewer, like other writers, argues
that the policy assumes an integrated education and training field with a single ministry, and
the fact that in 1994 separate ministries of Labour and Education were established, resulted in
significant confusion for colleges. He concludes his review by suggesting that the demand-
led approaches risked the colleges being overwhelmed by market forces.
11
Like Gewer, Macun (2000) and McGrath (2004) provide overviews of the policy process and
the tensions inherent in the education and skills division. McGrath argues that after 10 years
much has been achieved but the legacy of the apartheid past profoundly affects progress.
While major strides had been achieved in the first 10 years, notably the creation of 50
colleges through a series of mergers, and there was clear commitment to redress the past and
improve quantity and quality of provision, there are nevertheless major weaknesses. He
singles out failure to adequately deal with the recognition of prior learning, providing for the
needs of small and micro enterprises and the bias toward urban areas as three significant
weaknesses. Like Gewer and others, McGrath argues that the two ministries are a stumbling
block in the development of the sector.
KNOWLEDGE AND CURRICULUM
The work of Jeanne Gamble stands out as the major contribution on curriculum. Gamble has
addressed the issues at a theoretical level, in terms of understanding the nature of craft and
technical knowledge (Gamble 2003a; 2004a; 2004b) and in her book on curriculum
responsiveness (Gamble 2003b). Gamble examines the knowledge required for employment
and for self-employment, explores the tensions between theory and practice in the
curriculum, and addresses the complexity of language and learning in a country where the
majority learn in a language that it is not their home language. Gamble concludes her book by
firstly arguing that there is a convergence between the training required for employment and
self-employment, and that the curriculum needs to focus on employability. Secondly, she
argues that, contrary to many fears that a strong focus on employability will ‘dumb down’ the
curriculum, what is increasingly clear is that theoretical knowledge is central to the demands
of the modern economy. Gamble suggests that developing some conceptual distinctions
between different forms of knowledge required for employability can assist in rethinking the
curriculum and who should be teaching it.
12
In addition to her own work, Gamble has co-edited a book with Michael Young that analyses
various aspects of the FET curriculum, including the FET curriculum in schools (Young and
Gamble 2006). The contributors that focus on vocational aspects cover qualifications reform
(Allais 2006; Young 2006) and vocational curriculum (Gamble 2006) and pedagogy (Barnett
2006). Elsewhere, Allais’s work presents a damning critique of the unit standards outcomes
based approach that arises out of the requirements of the NQF (Allais 2003; 2007). She has
argued that the ‘designing down’ approach inherent in the NQF driven outcomes based
system does not work as a basis for curriculum development. The key problem is that this
outcomes based approach assumes that all knowledge is the same. Clearly this is not the case,
and the complex structure of disciplinary knowledge is not accounted for. Consequently, if
the curriculum is designed to meet outcomes, the teaching of the underlying knowledge
structures is not addressed. The consequence is that learners are not able to move beyond the
specific application.
There is an emerging literature on the interface between the market and colleges. Jacobsz
(2004) has developed guidelines on developing market driven programmes, while McGrath
and Akoojee (2007; forthcoming) have analysed the advent of marketing strategies in the
sector, and how these shape programmes. It is also important to explore the ways in which
these institutions come to understand the marketising imperative when economic relevance
has only been a part of the institutional logic of colleges historically in South Africa. Further
research is needed that can consider in which ways colleges are likely to continue to draw on
past traditions of social control and welfare, on the one hand, and of the transmission of
vocational knowledge, on the other.
While South Africa has significant capacity in curriculum studies, with the notable
exceptions mentioned above, there is very little application to the vocational curriculum.
Further, there is no evidence of any sustained examination of the issues of learning and
teaching (pedagogy) that are specific to vocational knowledge. The recent introduction of the
National Certificate Vocational (NCV) poses a range of curriculum questions that require
research attention. To what extent does the NCV address the employability criteria that
Gamble proposes, and what types of knowledge are specified in that curriculum? To what
13
extent does the NCV curriculum fragment knowledge through outcomes specification and to
what extent are the existing college lecturers able to teach the new curriculum? There is thus
significant curriculum related research work required.
TEACHERS, STUDENTS AND MANAGERS IN COLLEGES
There is a limited body of research into the staff in FET colleges. At a quantitative level even
the most recent studies (Akoojee, McGrath and Visser 2008) report on 2002 data, when there
has been significant change in the system over the past five years. Basic descriptive
information on the race, gender and qualification level is available up to 2002 (see DoE 2004;
Powell and Hall 2000; 2002; 2004), but there is no detail that differentiates areas of
specialization in qualifications, work-based experience and so forth. At a more qualitative
level, little is know about the biographical profile of the college staff, their motivation for
choosing to teach, their attitudes and values and their career paths. With the exception of a
limited number of dissertations that test perceptions, colleges remain a black box as far as the
teaching staff and the students are concerned. This is a major gap in the research.
The formal offering of programmes for college based lecturers is so limited1 that it is little
surprise to find that there is practically no literature on technical and vocational teacher
education. One of the reasons for the lack of any offering of dedicated programmes is that
there is no policy yet on what form of educational training is required for college lecturers.
Policy is imminent, but to not yet available. Michael Young’s (2006) ‘conversation’ piece,
outlines a number of models of teacher education for the college sector based on international
practices. His preferred option is a model that sees professional development as a joint
responsibility of colleges and university in a partnership, that addresses the issue of a
specialist vocational pedagogy and curriculum knowledge. This will require complex
relations between specialists in the appropriate disciplines, professional bodies and
curriculum specialists in order to avoid the danger of generic training.
1 See Papier, J. (2008) report
14
Salim Akoojee has recently presented a conference paper that highlights the dangers in the
decisions to devolve responsibility for staffing to the college council and warns that there
may be undesirable and unintended consequences. However, his paper does not enter into the
fine grained detail that is required to fully understand who the college lecturers are and what
motivates them, and crucially how they see themselves as educators and specialists. An
interesting possible area that can provide the basis for studies on teacher identity in the
vocational sector lies in the work on teaching and learning generated in universities of
technology, not by the faculties of education, but by the teaching and learning specialists and
the academic development practitioners attached to faculties in the institutions (see for
instance Jacobs 2006; McKenna & Sutherland 2006; Winberg 2006 and numerous papers
presented at the annual SAAAD conferences).
A similar picture exists for those enrolled in the colleges. We have some, albeit outdated
sense of the numbers in the system and their gender, race and age. There are also tracer
studies that show some data on where learners go from the colleges (Cosser et al 2003). A
few studies have looked at student support (Ferreira, 2002, Ferreira 2005, Fourie 2007;
Kruss, 2006). But no studies provide insight into the details of the students in the system,
how they experience the colleges and what they perceive to gain from their education.
The literature on the management and governance of the colleges is stronger, in part because
it overlaps with the literature on policy but also because the initial process of reform in the
college sector focused on restructuring the colleges and changing the model of management
and governance. Case studies of individual colleges (see for example Barnes 2004) and wider
studies of the system more generally (Bisschoff & Nkoe 2005) have documented the process
of merger and transformation into the FET colleges.
More recently the changes of governance have come into focus. These reforms have
empowered councils and have reduced the relationship with the provincial departments.
There are significant consequences, not least for the employees in the colleges. The research
on governance points to the weaknesses in the governance capacity in the majority of
15
colleges and the potential threat this poses to the overall reform process (Mabunda et al
2006). The lack of capacity lies at both the level of technical skills required for the
governance role, but more critically, the councilors are required to exercise judgement and
make informed decisions. However, there remains a question as to whether reform of the
governance structures that is not directly linked to the improvement in management and the
improvement in teaching and learning will make any difference to the quality of the
experience of the learners enrolled in the system.
CONCLUSION: GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES
What emerges from the above review is that while there is a growing body of published and
‘grey’ literature available on the FET college sector, the development of the field is very
uneven with strengths in some areas and massive gaps in other critical areas. In this final
section we discuss the areas that require further development and the opportunities that
emerge.
The major weakness that underpins the current available research is the fact that the research
has largely been produced outside the university system. The role of the HSRC and a number
of individuals and NGOs has been central. Indeed, it is impressive that so much has been
produced by so few. However, as has been discussed above, there are significant systemic
weaknesses that emerge out of this state of affairs. Two are worth noting. Firstly, the research
is almost entirely dependent on contracted research for particular agencies. Thus the state and
local and international development agencies have driven the research agenda. This means
that their interests in the sector determine the research agenda. Not surprisingly then, policy
research and research on the system, on governance and management has dominated. Policy,
systems and management do matter. But it should not dominate the agenda to the exclusion
of other areas of enquiry. It is important that South African FET research should increasingly
address other issues of importance, such as the nature of the evolving provider institutions
and the backgrounds, experiences and aspirations of staff and students.
16
The second concern is that funders’ interests and funding patterns change. The developments
at the HSRC, with the loss from that organization of key capacity, signals the potential for
important research work to cease very quickly. The fact that the quantitative analyses carried
out under the auspices of the NBI ended when the contract ended has meant that there is now
no current reliable data on key indicators in the sector. It is thus key that the research in the
sector becomes mainstreamed into research organizations that have discretionary monies
available and where less immediately policy oriented research receives attention.
Universities, with their own internal research grants, graduate students, and access to funding
from structures like the National Research Foundation, offer a the possibility of more
sustainable longer term research into the sector that looks at a wider set of issues in parallel
with the contract driven work of consultants and NGOs. In addition, there is a critical need
for the development of an internal research capacity within the college system itself, so that
knowledge about the sector is generated from within.
The third area of concern is the tendency for funded research to necessarily adopt a
technicist-managerialist approach that doesn't have a broader sociological grounding. One of
the great weaknesses of both policy and research in South Africa on the colleges is that it
doesn't locate itself in the bigger contexts. The literature that is on the colleges is largely
disconnected from the wider debates. The British literature has three major strands: first,
broader sociological writings that are not really about colleges, staff and students. Second,
the rather managerialist approach that is about improvement but is hermetically sealed into an
acceptance of the world order. The third is much more concerned with a sociological reading
of FE colleges. Its weakness is that it tends to foreground critique from a left ideological
perspective and hence can be rather defeatist at times. In South Africa we need to develop a
position that draws on all of them.
Colleges are being expected to make a radical transformation and to make difficult
contributions to major policy challenges. However, these institutions are new and fragile and
are based on historically weak predecessors. When forced to confront conflicting questions
about what they are for, such institutions have relatively weak resources on which to draw.
17
Understanding these institutions and the people in them is critical for understanding the entire
sector.
Much of the reform process cares little about understanding the people in the system or about
addressing their needs. From a macro reform perspective, as long as more staff and students
are black, and enrollments are increasing, there is little more than needs to be considered in
this view. However, such a view is untenable. Staff in the sector have been consistently
portrayed as conservative, ill-educated and out of touch with workplaces. Yet, these same
staff members are supposed to become transformed through little more than a few workshops
on outcomes based education. Assumptions that staff should provide "24/7" delivery (as are
held by some officials) are ungrounded in any sense of either existing rights of staff or the
nature of the FET market in much of South Africa. Beyond such practical issues, there are
also unanswered, often unstated, questions about the nature of the staffing complement; its
multiple backgrounds and senses of identity; and its future aspirations.
The demographic data suggests that colleges have left behind their roots in white working-
class skills and identity formation. However, they cannot tell us what has become of the
student body in any meaningful way. We simply do not know enough about why learners
enter the system and why they choose particular programmes. Nor do we know much about
their socialisation within the college sector.
Considering staff and students together, we also know far too little about the dynamics of
their interactions. How do the different evolutions of both groupings in terms of race, gender
and class interact with each other? On a more practical level, how do both sides deal with
issues of language in the classroom and workshop given the radical but unbalanced changes
in the home language mixes of both groups?
18
REFERENCES
Akoojee, S. 2005. Private Further Education and Training in South Africa: The changing landscape. Cape Town: HSRC Press.
Akoojee, S. & McGrath, S. 2006. Marketing and communication units at FET colleges: An appraisal. (May). HSRC Report
Akoojee, S. & McGrath, S. 2007. Public and private Further Education and Training in South Africa: a comparative analysis of the quantitative evidence. South African Journal of Education 27, 2, 209-222.
Akoojee, S.; McGrath, S. & Visser, M. (2008 forthcoming) Further Education and Training Colleges. In A. Kraak et al (eds) Human Resources Development Review: 2007, Cape Town: HSRC.
Akoojee, S., Gewer, A., & McGrath, S. (eds.) 2005. Vocational education and training in southern Africa: A comparative study. Cape Town: HSRC Press.
Allais, S M. 2003. The National Qualifications Framework in South Africa: A democratic project trapped in a neo-liberal paradigm? Journal of Education and Work, 16(3), PP.305-324.
Allais, S M. 2006. Problems with qualification reform in senior secondary education in South Africa. In Young M & Gamble J (eds) Knowledge, curriculum and qualification for South African further education. Cape Town: HSRC Press
Allais, S M. 2007. Education service delivery: The disastrous case of outcomes-based qualifications frameworks. Progress in Development Studies 7, (1) (01): 65-78.
Archer, S. 2007. The international literature on skills training and the scope for South African application. Development Policy Research Unit Report
Badroodien, A. 2001. A history of the Ottery School of Industries in Cape town: Issues of race, welfare and social order in South Africa in the period 1937 to 1968. Unpublished PhD, University of the Western Cape.
Badroodien, A. 2003. Local labour environments and Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges. In Cosser, M. et al (eds) Technical College Responsiveness. Cape Town: HSRC Press, pp.
19
Badroodien, A. 2003. Move aside TVET, here comes FET!. (paper presented at the University of the Western Cape, Education Faculty, post-graduate seminar series, 2 September 2003).
Badroodien, A. 2003. Technical and vocational education provision in South Africa in the period 1920 till 1970. In McGrath, S. Badroodien, A., Kraak, A. & Unwin, L. (eds) The Shifting Meaning of Skill in South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press
Badroodien, A. 2004. Monitoring and evaluation of DANIDA support to education and skills development (SESD) programme: Second formative impact assessment: FET colleges. (Paper presented at the SESD programme evaluation: A mid term dissemination seminar, HSRC, Pretoria, 23 July).
Badroodien, A. 2006. The role of linkages and programme units in building better relationships between FET colleges and the world of work. (Commissioned by the Department of Education).
Badroodien, A. & Kallaway, P. (2003/4) Further education and training in South Africa: The pursuit of skills and learning – to work. Southern African Review of Education, 9 & 10, pp.5-20.
Badroodien, A. and McGrath, S. (2003) monitoring and Evaluation of DANIDA Support to Education and Skills Development (SESD) Programme: First formative assessment. Pretoria: HSRC
Baloyi, ML. 2004. Improving achievement in Further Education and Training institutions in Limpopo province. MTech in Education., Tshwane University of Technology.
Barnes, CF. 2004. The transformation of technical colleges into Further Education and Training colleges : A decision-oriented evaluation of the Northern Cape urban Further Education and Training college. Unpublished Ph.D. in Comparative Education and Education Management., University of Free State.
Bird, A (2001) Knowledge capacity building in South Africa. In Gmelin, W., King, K. and McGrath, S. (eds) Development Knowledge, National Research and International Cooperation. Edinburgh/Bonn/Geneva: CAS/DSE/Norrag
Bisschoff, T.C. and Nkoe, M.N. 2005. The merging of further education and training colleges - challenging factors in three provinces of South Africa. South African Journal of Higher Education 19, (3): 203-217.
Breier, M. 2006. A model for the analysis of professions and professional education applied to medical doctors in South Africa. Perspectives in Education, 24(3), pp.25-36.
20
Chisholm, L. 1989. Reformatories and industrial schools in South Africa: A study in class, colour and gender in the period 1882 to 1939. Unpublished PhD, University of Witwatersrand.
Chisholm, Linda (ed). 2004. Changing class: education and social change in post-apartheid South Africa. Pretoria: HSRC Press.
Cosser, M., McGrath, S., Badroodien, A. and Maja, B. (eds) 2003. Technical College Responsiveness: learner destinations and labour market environments in South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press.
Daniels, R. 2007. Skills shortages in South Africa: A literature review. Development Policy Research Unit Report: University of Cape Town
Department of Education. 2004. The New FET Professional: The challenge of staffing responsiveness in FET colleges. Report prepared by the NBI.
Isaacs, E., Visser, K., Friedrich, C. & Brijlal, P. 2007. Entrepreneurship education and training at the further education and training (FET) level in South Africa. South African Journal of Education 27(4), pp.613-630.
Edwards, L. 1999. The integration of education and training in further education and training : Towards a pedagogy of mode-switching. MPhil in Adult Education., University of Cape Town.
Ferreira, DC. 2005. An investigation into the effects of co-operative learning strategies on the test results of science students at N3 level at the Port Elizabeth College for Further Education and Training. MTech in Education., Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
Ferreira, SL. 2002. The design, implementation and evaluation of student support and development services in Further Education and Training colleges in South Africa. PhD. Educational Psychology., University of Western Cape.
Fester, RR. 2006. Academic staff's perceptions of learnership programme delivery at a Further Education and Training institution. University of Johannesburg. Degree
Fourie, L. 2007. Academically accommodating students with learning disabilities at FET colleges. MTech in Education., Tshwane University of Technology.
Gamble, J. 2003a. Retrieving the general from the particular: the structure of craft knowledge. Journal of Education, 29, pp.71-92
Gamble, J. 2003b. Curriculum Responsiveness in FET Colleges. Cape Town: HSRC Press.
21
Gamble, J. 2004a. Tacit knowledge in craft pedagogy: A sociological analysis. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Cape Town.
Gamble, J. 2004b. A future curriculum mandate for further education and training colleges: Recognising intermediate knowledge and skill. In McGrath, S., Badroodien, A., Kraak, A. & Unwin, L. (eds) Shifting Understandings of Skills in South Africa: Overcoming the historical imprint of a low skills regime. Cape Town: HSRC Press. 175-193.
Gamble, J., McGrath, S. & Badroodien, A. 2004. Monitoring and evaluation of DANIDA support to education and skills development (SESD) programme: Second formative impact assessment, May 2004.
Geel, Pieter Andrew. 2005. The management of staff development programmes at FET colleges in the Gauteng province. Unpublished D. Ed., University of South Africa.
Gewer, A. 2001. Macro-Strategies and Micro-Realities: Evolving Policy in FET. In Kraak, A & Young, M. (eds) Education in Retrospect: Policy and implementation since 1990. Cape Town: HSRC Press, pp.133-151.
Gibbs, T. Brigden, D. & Hellenberg, D. 2004. The education versus training and the skills versus competency debate : Open forum. South African Family Practice. 46(10), pp.5-6.
Jacobs, C. 2006. Negotiated understandings of the academic literacy practices of tertiary educators. Unpublished PhD, University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Jacobsz, GL. 2004. Guidelines to ensure market-driven further education and training programmes in the Free State. M.A. in Higher Education., University of Free State.
Kiewiets, WM. 2006. Perceptions relating to students’ performance in small business management at Further Education and Training colleges. MEd, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
Kraak, Andre (ed). 2000. Changing modes new knowledge production and its implications for higher education in South Africa. Pretoria: HSRC Press.
Kraak, A. and Hall, G. 1999. Transforming further education and training in South Africa: A case study of technical colleges in KwaZulu-Natal. Volume 1: Qualitative findings and analysis. Pretoria: HSRC Press, .
Kraak, A. and Perold, H. (eds) 2003. Human resources development review 2003: Education, employment and skills in South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press.
22
Kraak, A and Press, K. (eds) 2008. Human resources development review 2008: Education, employment and skills in South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press.
Kruss, G. (2006). FET colleges set to become 'first choice' to skill youth. . HSRC Review 4(4):6-7., .
Kruss, G. (2006). Towards a framework for organising academic support to improve student success in FET colleges. (may).. HSRC Press, .
Kruss, G. Klerck, G. Paterson, A. and Godfrey, S. 2006. Creating knowledge networks.. Pretoria: HSRC Press.
Kruss, G. 2005. Working partnerships in higher education, industry and innovation: financial or intellectual imperatives. Pretoria: HSRC Press.
Kruss, G. 2004. Chasing credentials and mobility: private higher education in South Africa. Pretoria: HSRC Press.
Landman, Robin. 1999. Rolling back years of racism. Times Educational Supplement(4344) (10/01): IV.
Laugksch, Rüdiger C. 2003. South African science education research: an indexed bibliography 1930-2000. Pretoria: HSRC Press.
Mabizela, Mahlubi. The business of higher education: A study of public-private partnerships in the provision of higher education in South Africa. Pretoria: HSRC Press, 2005.
Mabunda, P., Adams, J., McGrath, S. 2006 “Governing transformation: the role of college councils in South African further education and training reform” Journal of Educational Planning and Administration 20, 1, 77-95
Macun, I. 2001. Developing skill and employment in South Africa: Policy reformulation for labour market adjustment
Mafaralala, Thomas Matome. 2006. Merger challenges facing the management of a selected college for further education and training. MTech in Education., Tswane University of Technology.
Maja, B. I. (2000). A situational analysis of FET institutions in Mpumulanga. (report to the MEC of education: Colleges collaboration fund: A project of the business trust and NBI October 2000).. National Business Initiative.
23
Manota, Piet. 2003. The management of the restructuring of technical colleges into further education and training institutions in Gauteng. D. Ed., Rand Afrikaans University.
McGrath, S. 1998. National policies and institutional practices: the credibility gap in South African education and training reform. Journal of Vocational Education and Training 50, 4, 503-20
McGrath, S. 2000. Coming in from the cold? Further education and training in South Africa Compare 30, 1, 65-84
McGrath, S. 2004. Reviewing the development of the South African Further Education and Training college sector ten years after the end of apartheid. Journal of Vocational Education & Training 56, (1) pp.137-157.
McGrath, S. 2005. Building a quality college sector for the twenty-first century. Southern African Review of Education 9 & 10, 21-44.
McGrath, S. 2007 Transnationals, Globalisation and Education and Training: Evidence from the South African Automotive Sector, Journal of Vocational Education and Training 59(4), pp.575-89.
McGrath, S. and Akoojee, S., 2007. The emergence of marketing and communications strategy in South African Further Education and Training colleges. Education, Knowledge and Economy 1, 3, 301-321.
McGrath, S. and Akoojee, S., (forthcoming). Journal of Education.
McGrath, S. Akoojee, S., Gewer, A., Mabizela, M., Mbele, N. and Roberts, J. 2005 “An examination of the vocational education and training reform debate in Southern Africa” Compare 36, 1, 85-103
McGrath, S., Badroodien, A., Kraak, A. & Unwin, L. (eds). 2004. Shifting Understandings of Skills in South Africa: Overcoming the historical imprint of a low skills regime. Cape Town: HSRC Press.
McKenna, S. & Sutherland, L. (2006) Balancing knowledge construction and skills training in universities of technology. Perspectives in Education, 24(3), pp.15-24.
Mohlokoane, Mokatsane Jakamene Stephen. 2004. Towards a leadership model for the effective management of Further Education and Training colleges in the Gauteng province. D.Ed., University of South Africa.
24
Moleke, Percy. 2005. Inequalities in higher education and the structure of the labour market. Pretoria: HSRC Press, .
Moodley, Visvaganthie. 2007. Codeswitching in the multilingual english first language classroom. International Journal of Bilingual Education & Bilingualism 10, (6): 707-22.
Nair, P. A. P. 2002. A theoretical framework for an access programme encompassing further education training: Remedy for educational wastage? South African Journal of Higher Education 16, (2) (01/01): 94.
Ncono, Wilfred Fezile. 2006. A comparative study of leadership and management approaches in further education and training colleges. D. Education., Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
Odora-Hoppers, C. 2000. Community colleges in South Africa: Towards an inclusive and vibrant further education and training: Phase one report. . Pretoria: HSRC Press.
Odora-Hoppers, C. 2001. Further education and training institutions and communities at work: Case studies of five community college models. . Cape Town: Human Sciences Research Council.
Peltzer, K., O. Shisana, E. Udjo, D. Wilson, T. Rehle, C. Connolly, K. Zuma, et al. 2005. Educator supply and demand in the south african public education system integrated report. Pretoria: HSRC Press, .
Phutsisi, Marianna Dipilwane Monyadiwa. 2006. Designing of a capacity development system for educational staff at further education and training (FET) colleges in the free state. MA in Education., University of the Free State.
Powell, L and Hall, G. 2000. Quantitative Overview of the Further Education and Training College Sector 1998. National Business Initiative Report for the Department of Education.
Powell, L and Hall, G. 2002. Quantitative Overview of the Further Education and Training College Sector 2000: The new landscape. National Business Initiative Report for the Department of Education.
Powell, L and Hall, G. 2004. Quantitative Overview of the Further Education and Training College Sector 2002: A sector in transition. National Business Initiative Report for the Department of Education.
Research Programme on Human Resources Development. Government incentivisation of higher education-industry research partnerships in south africa. an audit of THRIP
25
and the innovation fund working partnerships: Higher education, industry and innovation.. Pretoria: HSRC Press, 2003.
Research Programme on Human Resources Development, Michael Cosser, with Jacques du Toit, Mariette Visser. Settling for less: student aspirations and higher education realities. Pretoria: HSRC Press, 2004.
Sekete, Patience, Mmamajoro Shilubane, and Badiri Moila. 2001. Deracialisation & migration of learners in south african schools: challenges and implications.. Pretoria: HSRC Press.
Selebaleng, Lillian Senna. 2005. Analysis of the perceptions of staff members towards total quality management : The case study of taletso college for further education and training in the north west province. MEd., North West University.
Senna, Selebaleng Lillian. 2005. Analysis of the perceptions of staff members towards total quality management : The case study of taletso college for further education and training in the north west province. MBA., North-West University.
Shongwe, Zodwa. 2004. Factors influencing learner retention, dropout and achievement in previously disadvantaged further education and training colleges. M. Ed., University of Port Elizabeth.
Sibuqashe, Mziwakhe Ramos Sibuqashe. 2005. OBE in further education and training (FET) institutions in gauteng. MTech in Education., Tshwane University of Technology.
Smith, D. J. 2006. Concept analysis of critical cross-field outcomes in the context of private service providers within further education and training (FET). PhD in Education., University of Pretoria.
Snyman, Johan (ed). 1993. Conceptions of social inquiry. Pretoria: HSRC Press.
Sooklal, Sandra Sanyagitha. 2005. The structural and cultural constraints on policy implementation: A case study on further education and training colleges in South Africa. Ph.D., University of Pretoria.
Steyn, Isabel Suzanne. 2006. The role of educational managers in the successful implementation of life skills programmes in FET colleges. University of Stellenbosch.
Tsolo, R P. 2006. The implementation of e-learning in public further education and training institutions in South Africa. MA in Business Administration. University of Johannesburg.
26
Umalusi. 2007a. Apples and Oranges? A comparison of school and college subjects: An Umalusi Research Report. Pretoria
Umalusi. 2007b. The ‘f’ word: The quality of the ‘fundamental’ component of qualifications in general and further education and training: An Umalusi Research Report. Pretoria
Viljoen, H. 2005. Constraints in the teaching and learning of the humanities at South African universities: A delphi study. South African Journal of Higher Education 19(1) pp.31-44.
Winberg, C. 2006. Knowledge production in an architectural practice and a university architectural department. Perspectives in Education, 24(3), pp.83-96.
Young, M. and Gamble, J. (eds). 2006. Knowledge, curriculum and qualifications for South African Further Education. Cape Town: HSRC Press.
Young, M. 2006. FET college teachers: A knowledge-based profession of the future. Pespectives in Education 24(3), pp.153-160.
Zaaiman, Hermien. 1998. Selecting students for mathematics and science: the challenge facing higher education in South Africa.. Pretoria: HSRC Press.