3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item A biographical narrative study of deans’ responses to corporatisation of higher education in Uganda: a case study of Makerere University(2020) Mwebesa, Christine CharityGlobally, Higher Education (HE) has undergone transformation because of several factors. Some of these transformations are endorsed by international monitoring bodies, like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). While such interventions aimed at improving effectiveness and efficiency of academic institutions, they were received with mixed reactions. One such transformation is the corporatisation of HE, which is conceptualised in this study as the adoption of managerial models and private sector practices into Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), with the intention of achieving self-sustainability and global competitiveness, while maintaining local relevance. While extant literature draws a dichotomy between opponents and proponents of corporatisation of HE, it falls short of offering justification for the lived experiences of Deans in a seemingly already corporatised environment. Thus, the study sought to answer one major question: How do deans at Makerere University respond to corporatisation of HE in their academic space? Three sub-questions used were: • What is the understanding of deans of the notion of corporatisation of HE at Makerere University? • How has the deans’ lived experiences of corporatisation of HE influenced their roles, values and careers within the university? • How can the deans’ lived experiences inform policy of managing university reforms at Makerere University? A qualitative research approach, springing from an interpretive paradigm, and a narrative research design were used. Data was collected from university policy documents and a modified Biographical Narrative Interpretive Method (BNIM) interviewing technique. Fourteen (14) deans were purposively selected and seventeen (17) interviews generated (basing on BNIM three step interviews). Data from the interviews was transcribed and analysed both descriptively and interpretively, following Kelchtermans’ two phased process (1993). Two change theories and a model of organisational cultural framework were integrated to make sense of the data: Schein’s model (deans’ conceptualisation of corporatisation), selfdetermination theory (influence of corporatisation on deans’ values, careers and roles) and the competing values framework (beyond the divergence of corporate and academic values/models). Three constructs emerged from the analysis of data: passion, position and purpose, all of which, together with the traffic lights’ metaphor, were instrumental in identifying the three major categories (Rejectors, Embracers and Integrators) and five sub-categories (Challengers, Contemplators, Complimentors, Co-Implementors and Consolidators) of deans that emerged in the study. The study showed that deans’ responses unveiled their purpose (save, serve or solve) and position (as irredeemable, improvable or implementable) in support of, or against the entry of corporatisation. The manner in which the reform was received and implemented was influenced by the stand deans took. Also, the critical multifaceted role of deans in the university functions was revealed through the five broad themes identified: Quality, Governance, Access, Finances and Stakeholders, with 10 subthemes (quality as a product, quality as a process, role of government, role of university management, integrative role of deans, entry access, epistemic access, exit access, source of funding, comptroller of funds, stakeholder relationships and stakeholder management). Finally, the deans’ mediation role was brought to the fore in harmonising all the university’s stakeholder relationships (both external and internal). Lastly, it was evident that, to harness and effectively manage any university reforms or interventions, deans must take centre stage. The study, therefore, proposes a model beyond the competing values to an Integrative Complementing Model for HE reforms (ICM4HEr), which recognises and recommends deans’ mediating role for a productive relationship with all university stakeholders. For equitable access, the study recommends scrapping of government sponsorship at Makerere University, using the money to equip regional universities and support a regional quota for students from poor backgrounds. It further recommends more studies that compare deans’ experiences regarding corporatisation in private and public universities, as well as a similar study that looks at all categories of university staff, students and different levels of leadership using mixed methods.Item The role of transformation in the de-segmentation and re/production of academic labour, post-apartheid: 1986-2012(2017) Lewins, Kezia RoseThe recent student-led struggles for the De-colonisation of higher education have been premised on the lack of Transformation within the sector. This study, focuses specifically on how some of these underlying issues have been of concern to permanent academic labour within public higher education institutions. It explores the extent to which there has been racial, gender, and educational desegmentation in access to academic labour between 1986 and 2012. In conjunction, the experiences of academic staff, within two cases study institutions, on different post-apartheid trajectories is also documented. The role of Transformation within these change processes was specifically explored. Here, Transformation is used to encompass a variety of state, institutional, and activist-initiated interventions, namely restructuring, employment equity, and symbolic and socio-cultural transformation. Through the use of the mixed method approach, the study finds a range of incongruities between the goals and outcomes of change processes. The study finds that de-segmentation inevitably raises fundamental questions of the re/production of academic labour. Despite numeric de-segmentation, Transformational processes themselves often re/produce patterns of exclusion, inequity, and re/racialisation. The study’s core argument is mapped and unfolds throughout eight comprehensive chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the purpose and aim. Chapter 2 thematically reviews a broad scope of existing literature in which the study’s main argument is positioned. Chapter 3 engages the potential, challenges, and reflections of the mixed method at the heart of the research. Descriptive statistics generated from the HEMIS data base, analysis of 113 in-depth qualitative interviews across two case study institutions, and policy analysis were the core methods. Chapters 4 through 7 provide the research findings. The former two chapters, meticulously detail numeric de-segmentation across the sector and within the case studies. The latter two chapters, engage the rich texture, nuance, and contradictions of the academic condition in the face of Transformation. Lastly, Chapter 8 provides a summative discussion of the findings within the context of key literature. This thereby highlights the main contributions, and concludes the study through consideration of its significance, implications, directions for future research, and recommendations to improve academic labour conditions.Item The relationship between the philosophy of scientific knowledge and curriculum in Molecular Bioscience teaching at a tertiary learning institution(2018) Legg-E’Silva, Derryn AudreyThe relationship between teacher beliefs about the nature of science and scientific knowledge and pedagogical practice has been well studied. However, this has mainly been for teachers at school level. This study examined this relationship, in lecturers, at a university level where a single course is taught by multiple lecturers, each with their own beliefs and teaching practices. Anecdotal evidence suggests that science students are receiving mixed messages about the nature of science and scientific knowledge, these are contradictory to what they should be learning in order to think and reason like true scientists. Data was collected from four lecturers who lecture across the same Molecular Biosciences course in the form of interviews, classroom observations and text analyses in order to ascertain the relationship between the beliefs, practices and assessment approaches of each lecturer. The findings indicate that coherence exists between lecturers ’ beliefs and practices and is in agreement with previous research. However, this coherence does not occur between the lecturers. One lecturer was found to be positivist, two lecturers transitional and one lecturer reform-based in their beliefs and teaching approaches. An interesting finding with regards to assessment was revealed and provided an explanation for mixed messages science students may be receiving regarding the nature of science and scientific knowledge. It can therefore be concluded that lecturers’ beliefs about the nature of science and scientific knowledge are mirrored in their practices. This information may be useful for lecturer and teacher training and can be included in university and school discussions about views of teaching and assessment.Item How do teachers respond to prescriptive curriculum changes? a study in teacher discourse about educational reform.(2012-09-21) Pugh, ThomasHow do teachers respond to being told by the state what to teach? Whilst some suggest prescription can be instrumental in rapid system improvements, others believe that it has a deleterious effect on the profession. In this study, I firstly look at whether South Africa can be classified as a system increasing its levels of prescription and secondly consider how such an approach may affect teachers. Detailed investigation of policy documents finds that South African primary mathematics is an example of ‘unprescribed prescription’, typified by documents with hugely detailed teaching and learning practices but which are never made sufficiently mandatory. Studies of teachers’ responses to prescriptive educational reform are hindered by stereotypes, often based around teachers’ unwillingness to change. In-depth interviews allow the study to explore the positive and negative effects which teachers’ professional identities have upon decisions regarding policy reform. Equally, far from being passive in their reception of change, teachers displayed highly-ordered and well-reasoned viewpoints on how educational change should be successful. This allowed me to place teachers into four discrete categories according to their response to prescription and the implications of these categories for policy makers are put forward.