Browsing by Author "Vergotine, Glynnis"

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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 Role of Sector Education and Training Authorities in South Africa’s transition to a just and green economy
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-10) Josopu, Thembinkosi Matthews; Vergotine, Glynnis; Ramsarup, Presha
    Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) are South African organisations tasked through legislation to play a key role in developing skills through their Sector Skills Plans (SSPs). However, the country’s sustainable development pathways have not been sufficiently integrated into Sector Skills Plans. Hence, developing environmentally sustainable skills planning in South Africa is considered inept and fragmented. Planning related to environmental sustainability and associated skills has not been embarked upon on a substantial scale. This research explores the role of Sector Education and Training Authorities in relation to knowledge and skills for a just transition to a greener economy. In conducting the research, a qualitative methodology was employed, with documents collected and interviews used as data collection methods. The findings from the data analysis illustrate a lack of coordination in relation to integrating environmental sustainability into the Sector Skills Plan for improving knowledge and skills for just transition to a greener economy. Sector Education and Training Authorities continue to operate in silos as there is no central coordinating mechanism to ensure coherence and that national priorities are considered in skills planning for environmental sustainability. Some Sector Education and Training Authorities aim to adapt to changes presented by the transition to a green economy by developing new qualifications. However, the inability of regulatory bodies to respond timeously to qualifications submitted by SETAs for approval may be detrimental to those workers who will need upskilling and reskilling to support the just transition to greener economy. Implications of these findings are that the Department of Higher Education and Training should explore the establishment of a central coordinating body with a specific focus on knowledge and skills that will enhance environmental sustainability. Such a body should be empowered by legislation to direct and prescribe skills planning in SETAs. In addition, the capacity of the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations should be enhanced to improve turnaround time in relation to the approval of skills programmes submitted by Sector Education and Training Authorities.
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    Understanding oral hygiene knowledge and curriculum issues at training institutions in South Africa.
    (2015-05-07) Vergotine, Glynnis
    Higher Education is influenced by society and workplace demands, which affects the structure of curricula. The literature review exposed a lack of understanding of knowledge in the Oral Hygiene occupational field. This led to a call to understand which knowledge is most valued by the Oral Hygienist and how it affects professional development. This necessitated the examination of knowledge located in curricula. The aim of this study was to study the perceptions of South African Oral Hygiene lecturers and the organisation of knowledge in curricula, in order to learn about current attempts to professionalise the field. The study makes use of a qualitative descriptive design. The study population is based at two universities, consisted of full-time lecturers teaching Oral Hygiene. Data collection and analysis comprised three methods: semi-structured questionnaires to examine the lecturers’ perceptions about knowledge; curriculum analysis gathering information about the curricula making use of a knowledge type analysis tool developed from the conceptual framework; and examination question analysis to assess the recontextualisation of knowledge from concepts or everyday knowledge of practice. The results show a comparison of lecturers’ perceptions and the organisation of knowledge in the curriculum suggest that although it is clear that the lecturers aspire to professionalise the field, the curricula and their own research identities promote the preparation of practitioners with technical skills. This is shown (inter alia) in the following findings about both curricula: ‘clinical applied knowledge’ is highly valued (UNIV1-73% and UNIV2-53%) with a small amount of time spent on ‘pure’ knowledge (UNIV1-8% and UNIV2-12%). The point to be made here is, that an emphasis on ‘Clinical Applied knowledge’ suggests that a large amount of time is spent on covering procedures for practice, which in turn is an indication that the two curricula are inclined towards preparing students for an occupational model of practice. The lecturers’ research identity focuses on knowledge borrowed from clinical practice. Lecturers use a unifying concept for practice and believe they are experts in clinical teaching. In conclusion, examining South African lecturers’ current views of the Oral Hygiene knowledge base and studying its organisation within different curricula reveal that the knowledge most valued in the field is Clinical Applied knowledge with less emphasis on pure knowledge and knowledge applied from the sciences. This study highlights that lecturers aspire to professionalise the field, even though curricula promote the preparation of practitioners with technical skills.