Wits School of Education (ETDs)

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Browsing Wits School of Education (ETDs) by Author "Allais, Stephanie"

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    Dental occupations in transition: Boundary contestation and curricula for Oral hygienists in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-09) Vergotine, Glynnis; Allais, Stephanie; Shalem, Yael
    This study sought to understand how changes to the scope and autonomy of the oral hygiene occupation in South Africa have influenced relations among dental occupations. Over the past two decades, legislative advances in South Africa have sanctioned new possibilities for mid-level dental occupations such as oral hygienists, allowing them greater independence and additional procedures. The division of labour within the dental profession is that oral hygienists and dental therapists supplement the work that dentists do by offering some of the basic dental services. The changes to oral hygienists’ scope and independence have initiated boundary contestations around the work and training of dental professionals. The qualitative study involved analysing relevant regulatory documents and included semi-structured interviews with representatives of professional bodies and regulatory bodies as well as practitioners and lecturers representing the three dental occupations, and curriculum analyses. A key empirical finding is that the regulatory changes have not been implemented and this is so not only because of contestations by dentists. The study highlights boundary contestations between dentists and oral hygienists. These contestations are about specific procedures in the expanded scope of practice and the opportunity for hygienists to practice independently. The study found that boundaries have been established from outside of the oral hygiene occupation by dentists, to control their work and training. Dentists’ power is exhibited in the labour market and the education and training arena and provides justifications for why the official legislative changes in scope are not being implemented. Despite this, hygienists also place boundaries on themselves, so within the occupation, there are various ways in which hygienists limit their advancement. The hygienists are hesitant to perform certain procedures and have not opened independent practices. This suggests that pressure to narrow the scope and autonomy may not only come from outside of occupations but also from the inside of an occupation. The thesis shows a web of power relations between occupations and provides insights into a dominant occupation controlling the jurisdiction of subordinate occupations; but more unusually, it reveals the dynamics within the mid-level occupation that stifle its advancement.
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    The perceived strengths and weaknesses of NATED, NCV and Occupational Qualifications in training plumbers at TVET Colleges
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-09) Mogale, Lesetja James; Shalem, Yael; Allais, Stephanie
    This research report investigated the perceived strengths and weaknesses of NATED, NCV and Occupational Qualifications in training plumbers at TVET Colleges. The research investigated the views of lecturers, learners and campus managers on what they view as the strengths and weaknesses of NATED, NCV, and Occupational Qualifications in training plumbers at TVET colleges. The main differences are the manner in which practical and theoretical knowledge are taught in the three courses, which appears to be a strong factor in the perception of the strengths and weaknesses of NATED, NCV, and Occupational Qualifications. The main weakness of the NATED qualification is the absence of the practical component at the college level. However, the main strength of the NATED is its flexibility to allow working students to attend classes on a block release basis or as part time students. The main weaknesses of NCV is that it does not allow employed students to attend classes on full time or part time bases. The qualification require students to complete the whole three years to exit the programme. However, the strength of the qualification is the basic practical component which provide students the skills to start own businesses. The strength of Occupational Qualification is that its students are already employed by their different companies as apprentices. The main weakness is when the host employer is not able to conduct all practical component and the lead employer is not able to find the alternative host employer to conduct the missing practical component. In conclusion, the three qualifications differ significantly in the approach and delivery method. Although they all lead to apprenticeship which ends with candidates taking a trade test to qualify as artisans, their different approaches signify weaknesses and strengths.