Looking at the front page of this publication, from a building maintenance perspective, what does the photo convey?
The Council on Higher Education (CHE) is an independent South African statutory body; a quality council that advises the Minister of Higher Education and Training; and responsible for promotion of quality assurance. So why has this photograph of a neglected wall been chosen?
The publication’s sub-title reads: ‘Eight task team reports’. The table of contents, in addition to the (1) Overview, includes seven chapters namely about (2) Regulation, (3) Governance, (4) Teaching and Learning, (5) Research, (6) Community Engagement, (7) Academic Staffing, and (8) Funding.
In the overview, Denyse Webbstock, sketches the broad higher education (HE) context with regard to (a) the international trends of massification and globalization; (b) a fundamental shift “in the way knowledge is defined and understood, and how this affects purpose” (p. 14); and (c) the swift growth rate of information and communication technologies. Webbstock highlights two key narratives with regard to the knowledge-shift, namely (i) it “is seen to be no longer residing in particular institutions and contained within specific content to which only a few gain access”; and (ii) it became ‘commodified’—one of many products “in a market-dominated consumer society”. Webbstock further (p. 16) cites Barber, Donnelly and Rizvi (2013) speculation “about the emergence of a diversity of institutional types”, such as few elite universities focusing on research; “mass universities providing good education for a rapidly growing global middle class mostly through blended approaches”; niche universities; “local universities that provide for the development of skills for local and regional economic development”; and “lifelong learning institution offering short courses to supplement workplace experiential learning” (CHE 2016: 16).
Webbstock (CHE 2016: 43) addresses differentiation further by pointing out “the lack of a clear direction on which to move forward”. This and the lack of clarity of HE institution type, with regard to the relevant proportion of ‘vocational-type’ qualifications, further impacts both identity and teaching and learning practices. The two decades’ of experimentation with regard to the role of Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) for training further exacerbated and weakened the vocational mandate. A devaluing of industry experience in the appointment of staff, with a preference given to academic qualifications also became evident. There had furthermore been both a “move away from work integrated learning” (p. 44) and a diminished “role of the Advisory Boards comprising academic and industry partners that had helped to shape their curricula”.
Webbstock (CHE 2016: 45) indicates that teaching and learning, “how curriculum is organised and what attitudes, values and practices are cultivated” are significantly impacted by institutional type and qualification/programme purpose. Particularly are comprehensive institutions, difficulty is witnessed, with regard to integrating different pedagogies, resulting in gravitation “towards homogeneity rather than differentiation”.
In chapter 4, on Teaching and Learning (CHE 2016: 143-191), “the implications of differentiation on teaching” (pp. 153-157) is again addressed. It is stated, among others, that if there is not “a clear sense of institutional identity” (p. 155) then “Academics have a very difficult time determining what is expected of them in terms of the kinds of graduates they should be developing” and that “Indeed there can be no fitness for purpose in teaching and learning when the purpose of the university is not clearly articulated”.
The South African National Qualifications Framework (NQF) characterises diploma programmes/qualifications as providing “a ‘depth and specialisation of knowledge, together with practical skills and experience in the workplace’ to enable successful learners to ‘enter a number of career paths and to apply their learning to particular employment contexts from the outset’” (CHE 2016: 155). In this regard, Christine Winberg cited in CHE (2016: 156), states that although “The use of experiential learning, or work integrated learning (WIL), was a central characteristic of most national diplomas, but research on the use of this pedagogical approach showed that in many cases this form of learning was entirely uncurriculated, with students having to find their own placement and then spending their time on activities that provided no access to specialized workplace knowledge, such as making tea and doing photocopies”. Accordingly, the CHE’s “programme accreditation process introduced in 2004 made it clear that work integrated learning modules could not count for credits unless they were very clearly curriculated, with the university responsible for the placement, support and assessment of students” (CHE 2016: 156); resulting in many cases the work-integrated learning either removed or the period substantially reduced.
Council on Higher Education. (2016) South African Higher Education reviewed, two decades of democracy. Pretoria: CHE. Electronically available from http://www.che.ac.za/media_and_publications/monitoring-and-evaluation/south-african-higher-education-reviewed-two-decad-0
Barber, M., Donnelly, K. & Rizvi, S. (2013) ‘An avalanche is coming: Higher education and the revolution ahead’ (report) (Institute for Public Policy Research: London). Electronically available from http://www.ippr.org/files/images/media/files/publication/2013/04/avalanche-is-coming_Mar2013_10432.pdf?noredirect=1
Winberg, C. (2006) Undisciplining knowledge production: Development driven higher education in South Africa Higher Education, 51, 159-172. Electronically available from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-004-6378-5