Charste Coetzee Wolhuter

Community College Model: Desideratum in the South African Higher Education Landscape

The community college prototype which originated in the United States is spreading worldwide. It has been embraced by many countries because of its characteristics such as opening and equalization of access to tertiary education, especially for sectors of the population hitherto underrepresented at higher education institutions, its value in the democratization of higher education and promotion of democratic society, and because of its exemplary education–employment nexus and education– community nexus. South Africa is currently in the throes of a fundamental societal reconstruction project, in which education has been assigned a major role to accomplish. In this reconceptualization and redesign of education the community college model – thus far absent from the South African higher education scene – has been frequently mooted, by scholars and in official government documents alike, as being exemplary, for example, Strydom et al. (1995); Creative Associates International Inc. for TEPS, a Project of USAID (1996); and Zuma (1996). These citations all date from the mid-1990s, when the post-1994 education reform project commenced. As far as could be ascertained, this call has since then subsided, and does not occur much in public policy debate or in the scientific literature anymore. The recommendation was definitely never implemented, as the eventual post-1994 restructuring of higher education went in the opposite direction – the institutions approximating the community college model (the South African technikons) have been upgraded to become fully fledged universities. The aim of this chapter is to assess the desirability and potential of inserting the community college model in the South African higher education landscape – a model much discussed a decade ago, but never realized by the extensive higher education reforms spearheaded by the African National Congress (ANC) government. The possibility, desirability, and necessity of inserting the community college model in the South African higher educational landscape are determined in view of contextual forces, namely the geography, the demography, the social context, and the economy. The definition of the community college model will not be elaborated upon, as this has been discussed elsewhere (Raby, 2001, p. 3), as has been the community Chapter 20 Community College Model: Desideratum in the South African Higher Education Landscape

Primary student teachers' perceptions of and motivations for comparative education: findings from a comparative study of an Irish and South African comparative education course

Comparative Education (CE) in Teacher Education (ITE) receives little attention in the literature, and this attention is mainly focussed on its decline in Western Countries. This article highlights, however, that it is not declining to the same extent in some countries in Asia, Eastern Europe and in South Africa. The study, upon which the article is based, explores a completely neglected aspect of CE in ITE – the perceptions of student teachers studying CE. The research was conducted among student primary teachers in Ireland and South Africa. Even though some similarities emerge, their perceptions are mainly divergent. It is in the analysis of this divergence, however, that a rich picture of student perceptions emerges. The main findings are: the Irish students knew much less about CE than their South African counterparts, and their main motivation for studying CE was to enable them to work abroad, whereas the South African students wanted to learn about other systems of education in order to improve Education in South Africa. Other findings concerning the extent to which CE is considered to enable student teachers to improve their teaching, are interesting and these are considered in the discussion section.

The Road to Religious Tolerance in Education in South Africa (and Elsewhere): a Possible ‘Martian Perspective’

Abstract Combining Dennetts notion of detached curiosity with Alexanders notion of transcendental pragmatism, we propose in this paper, from a ‘Martian perspective’, that religious understanding and tolerance in education may be pursued from at least two different angles: (a) via the spiritual substrata of religions or via confessional pluralism or (b) via a combination of both. On the basis of a hermeneutic reconstructive interpretation of (a), we subsequently argue that current South African policy on education and religion has effectively placed a ban on confessional pluralism by relegating religious education to parental homes and religious institutions such as churches, temples and mosques. We conclude that it provides no opportunities for helping learners to understand the religious differences that they will have to engage with in future as adults. We suggest that it effectively engineers a pedagogy of religious essentialism and the subsequent reemergence (of an almost Bourdieuian model) of cultural and spiritual intolerance.

Key challenges facing the South African academic profession at the interfaces of management, interaction with the international academic community and service for society

Abstract The international Changing Academic Profession (CAP) research project is currently surveying the academic profession in 22 countries. At the planning conference of this study, three emphases in the contemporary professional environment of academics have become particularly persuasive: relevance, internationalisation and management. As part of the international research team of the CAP research project, the authors have applied the questionnaire of the CAP survey (which measures academics’ experiences and responses to these three trends) to a sample of the South African academic profession. The results show that while the South African academic profession has made the mind-shift from the traditional conceptualisation of the university as an “ivory tower institution”, rather detached from society in its pursuit of truth, to an institution relevant to the concrete and immediate needs of society, the profession could thus far not succeed in giving practical effect to this changed concept. While the South African academic profession has internationalised rapidly during the first decade after the repeal of the international academic boycott against South Africa, to the point where it has become more internationalised than its colleagues abroad, it has been losing ground again during the past few years. It is in its relationship with management that the biggest cause of concern for the South African academic profession lies. This research indicates that the South African academic profession finds itself in a highly prescriptive environment, over which it has little influence, and which it does not find very supportive of its teaching and research activities. In conclusion, follow-up research aiming at addressing these problems is recommended.

CAN UNIVERSITIES MEET THEIR MANDATE TO BE SOCIALLY CRITICAL AS WELL AS CONSTRUCTIVE

This article defends the claim that two conditions facilitate sustainable development, namely, a democratic citizenry, and social justice, and that in establishing these, the university is indispensable and ideally placed. With the use of an experiential, interpretive approach the article examines the social critique function of the university, as well as the role of the university in reinforcing a culture of democratic citizenry and thereby of promoting social justice. The last part of the article delineates the current global higher education revolution, and identifies the opportunities and threats posed by that revolution regarding the universitys discharge of these two functions. The article concludes with a warning to scholars to be aware of both the opportunities for consolidating their scholarship and the concomitant threats to their academic autonomy.

The Philanthropic mission of Comparative and international education bequeathed by Jullien: continuing capstone of the field

Abstract The aim of this lead article of this special issue of Compare is to assess the value of Jullien’s vision for the field of comparative and international education today. The life, writings and ideas of Jullien are sketched, followed by a survey of the path of development of the field since the time of Jullien. In view of the exigencies of the early-twenty-first century, the article argues that Jullien’s philanthropic vision holds up a beacon for a future trajectory of the field. This article also introduces the other contributions to this volume by using them to illustrate, to refine and to qualify this thesis.

The Lack of and Need for Academic Depth and Rigor in Teacher Education, with Special Reference to South Africa

Abstract Increasing apprehension worldwide about the rigor and depth in teacher education programs gave riseto this paper. The objective of this paper was to identify factors that detract from depth and rigor in teachereducation programs, particularly in South Africa. An interpretive-constructivist approach was employed to build aconceptual-theoretical framework. The research found seven sets of factors detracting from academic rigor inteacher education. These include the student-staff ratios in faculties/schools of education, poor student intake, trends in teacher education curricula and program design, development and implementation, the pragmatic slantand poor funding of education-related research, the relative short history of education as an academic discipline atuniversities, the poorly structured state of specialization fields of education, including the incoherent state of thefield(s) of education-related knowledge, as well as the non-accumulative nature of education-related research. It isrecommended that teacher training colleges are reinstated and that university faculties of education concentrateon the core mission of strengthening education scholarship.