KovsieJournals - University of the Free State (UFS)
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A case for deliberate and accommodative design for blended teaching and learning in universities in developing countries
Get PDFSince the emergence and development of digital technologies, the internet has quickly emerged as one of the most effective platforms for providing teachers and learners with access to resources for learning and sharing material. Universities in developing countries have limited access to digital technologies. At the few universitieswith access to digital technologies, there is arguably a lack of inclusive and accommodative pedagogy. Furthermore, challenges range from accessibility, administration, governance, and general lack of resources to inclusive module design due to inequalities. After the emergence of digital technologies, universities have had the benefit of curating some of their offerings to an ‘E-Learning’ mode, where learners and lecturers interact digitally. The technology part of the ‘blend’ is crucial, as it allows teachers and learners to interact beyond the classroom, form online communities of sharing ideas and debates, and learn according to their pace and environment. However, developing countries seem to be battling the challenge of transitioning from past teaching and learning policies, innovation, and education strategies. Furthermore, there have been several reasonable criticisms of the use of technology in education; some are concerned with the curriculum, knowledge, and pedagogy. Thus, this article caters for some criticisms using the theoretical framework research methodology. This article advocates blended learning and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) integration at universities in developing countries by relying on national and international studies. The UDL principles that this article advocates to be included in module and course design are multiple means of engagement, multiple means of representation, and multiple means of action and expression. Universities in developing countries experience unique challenges ranging from administrative, teaching and learning, and adaptation challenges due to a lack of resources and untrained academics and learners having to navigate the online learning environment
Social constructivist pedagogy in business studies classrooms – teachers’ experiences and practices
Get PDFSocial constructivism is the dominant pedagogical theory endorsed in educational discourse today. This study set out to examine teaching and learning in Grade 11 business studies classrooms from a social constructivist perspective. The data were obtained through document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations. While the teachers were positive towards social constructivist pedagogy, they were not familiar with the epistemology that underpinned its emergence. The learning of multiple perspectives through discussion, a key tenet of the social constructivist theory of learning, was not evident. Teachers indicated that they preferred direct instruction, as it enabled curriculum coverage and better control over learners. Teachers viewed social constructivist approaches as slowing down syllabus coverage and leading to loss of control in overcrowded classrooms. Limited time and higher workload due to larger classes were common deterrents
Intercultural Frames of Bible Translation Ownership in DR Congo
Get PDFThe present paper offers an intercultural approach to the issue of Bible translation ownership in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It examines Bible translation ownership models in a current culture (DRC), in past Church cultures, as well as in original Biblical cultures. After showing the similarity and the difference of ownership models between the chosen frames of reference, it suggests a way forward for effective ownership of the Bible translation process in DRC.
 
First-year university students’ understanding of function concepts encountered in Grade 12 Mathematics: a case study
Get PDFThis article focuses on first-year university students’ understanding of concepts related to third-degree polynomial and trigonometric functions that they encountered during their study of Grade 12 mathematics. In this study three online questions from two firstyear mathematics quizzes at the University of KwaZulu-Natal were analysed. The first question focused on the characteristics of a polynomial function, while the second and third questions focused on the characteristics of trigonometric functions. The characteristics included calculus-related concepts, for example, intervals of increase or decrease, concavity and local extrema. It was found that about a fifth of the participants (n = 557), science students who studied the core mathematics module Introduction to Calculus, had difficulties in answering those calculus-related questions compared to determining the general non-calculus characteristics, for example, the range and domain. The study also found that about a quarter of the participants lacked relational understanding with regard to calculus-related concepts. This study recommends that lecturers need to spend more time on calculus-related concepts of a function that focus on relational understanding
Even hungrier for knowledge: A 10-year follow-up study on vulnerability to food insecurity amongst students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal
Get PDFResearch on the extent of food insecurity amongst the South African university student population has gained momentum over the past decade, and for good reason. Along with the multiple other challenges that South African university students face (e.g. funding shortfalls, limited access to student housing, high levels of failure and dropout, institutional bureaucracy, and oppressive colonial legacies), students being chronically hungry and unable to access safe and nutritious food on a regular basis remains a notable crisis. This article reports on a 10-year follow-up study on the extent of vulnerability to food insecurity amongst students registered at the University of ABC (UABC). Whereas data collected for the initial 2007–2009 study only targeted students from one of the five UABC campuses, the current study improved on the sampling strategy and collected data from 438 students registered across all five UABC campuses in 2018. Using the University Students Food Insecurity Questionnaire, as developed during the initial study and adapted from the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, the findings from the current study suggest that 49% of the UABC student population experience serious to severe levels of vulnerability to food insecurity. This is more than double the reported levels of serious to severe vulnerability to food insecurity found in the initial study. This article reports on how and why food insecurity levels may have escalated unchecked over the past decade
Principals’ servant leadership practices and teacher motivation: Perspectives from South African rural schools’ context
Get PDFThis study explored the relationship between principals\u27 servant leadership practices and teacher motivation in selected rural schools in South Africa. It adopted a qualitative research design, collecting data through semi-structured interviews with six principals and six teachers from rural schools in South Africa. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis, which identified themes related to principals\u27 servant leadership practices and teacher motivation.
This study is underpinned by the theory of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs which explains the five levels of human needs that motivate individuals. The findings revealed that principals\u27 servant leadership practices were positively associated with teacher motivation in South African rural schools’ context. Specifically, the study found that principals who exhibited servant leadership practices such as listening to teachers\u27 needs, providing support and guidance, promoting teamwork and collaboration, and showing appreciation and recognition, had motivated teachers.
The study identified that principals who engage in servant leadership strategies can succeed in motivating their teachers to commit to their teaching profession and quality education. However, secondary data shows that servant leadership strategies are not drivers of success but contributing factors to keeping their teachers motivated and not losing them to urban areas.
The study further argued that not all schools practicing servant leadership are able to motivate or keep their best teachers. Thus, there are other factors that motivate teachers to stay in rural schools such as high salaries, teaching schools located in their home villages, or the ability of principals to appoint teachers who view the profession as their calling and not just an employment opportunity. Teachers who already view their profession as a calling are easy to remain motivated and stay committed to schools in rural areas. Similarly, teachers working in their rural villages have a higher chance to resist relocating to urban schools since they are comfortable being close to their families and relatives.
In sum, servant leadership strategies alone are not enough unless the teachers are already committed to the school project for subjective reasons. This study contributes to the growing body of research on leadership and motivation in education and highlights the critical role that principals can play in promoting positive teacher attitudes and behaviors in South African rural schools’ contexts
Discipline in the parental home and at school: Instead of the “blame game”, a caring community
Get PDFThis is an educational-philosophical, more particularly, a societaltheoretical reflection on the “blame game” that is occasionally played between the parental home and the school with respect to the behaviour displayed by children in these societal relationships. After consulting the literature regarding this issue, and the findings of recent empirical studies in South Africa for purposes of describing the “blame game”, the interpretivist-constructivist method was employed for exploring an alternative approach to the discipline problem in homes and schools, namely the creation of a social compact, and of a caring school community based thereon. The discipline practised in the parental home differsfrom that at school because home and school are essentially different societal relationships, each with unique foundation and destination functions; hence with respective sphere sovereignty. Their interests and activities are, at the same time, also interlaced in that they share the same child as a member. It is due to this interlacement (enkapsis) that unacceptable behaviour at home might impact detrimentally on discipline in the school, and vice versa. To counteract this reciprocal display of unruly behaviour, it is suggested that the parents and the school attended by their children could consider entering into a social compact or covenant so that they are as one in guiding the young people towards disciplined behaviour, that is, socially acceptable behaviour. The actions of such a new community should be guided by several moral codes, the most important of which are the ethic of community, and of loving, caring and compassion
Capturing landscape identity in the context of urban renewal: The case of Kisumu City, Kenya
Get PDFUrban renewal is undertaken to respond to the physical deterioration of built forms in postcolonial Africa, with renewal works affecting current cities’ identities. Globalisation trends have cities striving to be unique, with a growing awareness of the importance of identity. Landscape identity is adopted in this study as the overall term that includes other identities and is interpreted as residents’ perception of the special features that help them differentiate between places. This study postulates that a city’s uniqueness lies in its landscape identity and that this should not be neglected. The article investigates the concept of landscape identity in the context of a case study of the city of Kisumu, Kenya, which has recently undergone urban renewal. The aim of the study was to identify the main aspects that constitute the formation of landscape identity in Kisumu. A mixed-methods approach was used, which included field investigations, a survey with 384 participants, and four key informant interviews. The survey results revealed that the city’s location along Lake Victoria, which represented an element of the natural environment, gave it the highest rating. The proximity to Lake Victoria and views of the hills were regarded as the most outstanding features of the city, while the lake was the highest ranked element with symbolic meaning that evoked individual and collective memories. These findings suggest that the urban landscape identity in Kisumu is strongly connected to features of the natural environment
Safety of Journalists from a Gendered Perspective: Evidence from Female Journalists in Ghana’s Rural and Peri-Urban Media
Get PDFThis study sought to explore the safety risks female journalists working in Ghana`s rural and peri-urban media encounter while doing their work, how safe they feel and how they are coping with safety breaches. Thirteen semi-structured interviews with female journalists employed by Ghanaian broadcast media outlets in rural and peri urban areas were undertaken. Guided by Braun and Clark’s (2006) six steps for qualitative data analysis, interview transcripts were thematically analysed. It was found that physical and emotional security threats; poor working conditions were the main threats to female journalists working in Ghana’s rural and peri urban media. While there are generally bad working conditions, some participants believe that men receive more benefits and opportunities for professional growth than women. Compared to their male peers, females are occasionally ridiculed and refused training and professional opportunities. When there are safety violations, employers generally offer little assistance. Female journalists cope with violations and insecurities by self-censoring, avoiding working during specific hours of the day, and steering clear of reporting conflicts, politics, and elections as a safety measure. The study recommends that to avoid maladaptive actions by journalists, media organisations address the safety needs of their female journalists. Journalists themselves should look out for personal security initiatives to enhance their skills. 
From the editors
Get PDFOur settlements are under constant threat, struggling to keep up with a changing world, a world with everchanging demands, both from our citizens and our ideals of what a successful settlement should be. Specifically, geo-political forces and factors including migration, war and civil unrest, pandemics and the throes of climate change have come to affect human settlements in multiple ways. Professor Greg Clark (Future Cities and New Industries, HSBC), explains, “In the recent past, we thought a successful city was a city with a major cluster of office jobs in the centre, suburban housing on the fringes, and an attractive set of amenities, facilities, services and public space” (Goodman, 2023). However, the priorities of citizens and town and regional planners are changing, we are setting a new standard for our settlements, expecting more from it, for this living organism to deliver more, be more..