Cosmas Maphosa

University of Eswatini · Institute of Distance Education

One of UNESCO's advocacy messages states that ‘lifelong learning for all is the most appropriate philosophy, conceptual framework and organising principle for learning, education and training in the 21st century’. To ensure innovative and resilient employees, companies need to integrate lifelong learning into their operations. Investing in upskilli...

Learning online as a new experience for students who are accustomed to the traditional face-to-face contact learning may be associated with numerous opportunities and threats. The qualitative case study sought to establish, from students; experiences, the opportunities, and threats of online learning. The study was informed by the Community of Inqu...

The offering of curricula that are relevant and responsive to the needs of society is the ultimate goal of any higher education institution. However, there is a need to engage in a curriculum development process that attends to the different ‘voices’ by addressing the needs of the different stakeholders. Stakeholders’ voices and needs can be ascert...

Online learning is different from face-to-face contact learning. The former is technology-mediated and often accused of lacking the interaction the learners would have when learning together in contact sessions. However, the richness of online learning is flexibility, which allows learning to take place anytime from anywhere. Online learning throug...

p>Scholars in Open Distance Learning (ODL) often refer to distance education as ‘open’. The concept 'openness' on open and distance learning is very fluid and often misunderstood. It is the purpose of this desktop survey to review relevant literature and make interrogation of the concept 'openness'. We advance questions such as; How open is open an...

The way distance learners learn influences the manner in which they succeed in the different programmes of study. This study sought to gather views of selected open and distance learners on how they engaged in learning. The study was located in the interpretivist research paradigm and followed a qualitative research approach of which a case study d...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate challenges faced by and opportunities open to women entrepreneurs in Botswana and how entrepreneurship education can boost their knowledge and skills of doing business profitably and contribute to women empowerment. Design/methodology/approach In total, 400 women entrepreneurs of different ages,...

A safe school environment is conducive for learning at all levels of education. However, schools sometimes enroll children who are generally at risk due to various factors. The chapter discussed how schools and early childhood centers (ECD) can maintain safety and peace for children and youths in their care. By virtue of their age, young children a...

Abstract This study sought to establish teachers' perceptions of music education in Swaziland primary schools. The study was located in the interpretivist research paradigm and followed a qualitative research approach which applied a case study design. Individual interviews and focus group discussions with a purposive sample of 58 practising teache...

The high failure and retention rates at universities, despite peer academic support programmes, have necessitated a critical exploration of the recruitment and training of peer facilitators. Face to face in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used as data collection methods Twenty one participants working with different programmes and...

The popularity of assigned or forced same-gender and cross-gender matches between school mentors and student teachers has heightened concerns regarding the ethical and/or unethical behaviours of mentors. In this article the authors present the findings of a crosssectional survey study on the prevalence of ethical and/or unethical behaviours of scho...

This paper employed a multiple case study design to establish the coping strategies used by early childhood development (ECD) teachers to cope with work-related stress. Unstructured in-depth interviews were used to obtain data from eighteen participants. Data were analysed qualitatively. Findings revealed that teachers draw from different coping me...

Teaching and learning in the 21st century should ensure that teachers embrace and utilize the latest Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to enhance students’ learning. Underpinned by the diffusion of innovations theory, the study sought to establish teachers’ levels of computer literacy and utilization of ICTs in teaching and learning...

The study sought an in-depth understanding of innovative measures employed by small to medium size independent hotels in the management of business in Harare, Zimbabwe. Underpinned by the Resource Based theoretical framework, the study adopted a qualitative case study design located in the interpretive research paradigm. A purposive sample of five...

Questioning is an essential component of effective teaching. The extent to which lecturers are ableto ask appropriate questions goes a long way in ensuring content mastery and content application. In this paper weexplore questioning as an interactive teaching tool in higher education. The paper is informed by the socialconstructivist learning theor...

This study assessed the structures and processes of quality monitoring of mentoring in the 1+1 Initial Primary Teacher Education model in Malawi. Data was collected from a sequential mixed methods design comprising a survey followed by a case study which employed document analysis and face to face interviews. 666 respondents (94% response rate) con...

The study investigated the views of school management teams on self-reflection practices. The purpose of the study was to establish self-reflective practices employed by SMT in fulfilling their management functions. The study followed the qualitative approach with a case study research design. The population consistedof SMT from primary, secondary...

The aim of the study was investigate implications for academic developers on Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). The research population consisted of three faculties in one South African university. The researchers used a qualitative research approach with case study as a research design. The study followed an interpretivist paradigm because it co...

Universities, the world over, seek excellence in teaching and learning. Emphasis is put on quality of all university processes as universities seek to satisfy major stakeholders. Quality assurance of teaching and learning processes and procedures is important in order to ensure that relevant and useful graduates are produced from universities. In t...

The debate on what really contributes to successful PhD theses completion within minimum prescribed time is perennial and unending. A lot of studies on post-graduate research normally focus on modes of research supervision and student funding as the most important factors in PhD research work. However, there is a need to examine student-specific fa...

The study investigated participation of primary school management teams (SMTs) in school management. The purpose of the study was to establish self-reflective practices employed by SMTs in performing their management function. The study followed a qualitative approach with a case study research design. The population consisted of SMTs from primary...

The study sought to establish challenges encountered by teachers in teaching science in rural junior secondary schools in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Located in the interpretivist paradigm and following a qualitative approach, the study adopted a case study design. A purposive sample of three school principals, three Natural Sciences...

Worker productivity is enhanced by good working conditions provided to workers. Good working conditions include perks and benefits. Underpinned by the Four Drive Model of Employee Motivation, the study sought to examine workers’ views on staff retention measures at the workplace. The study adopted a mixed methods approach. A concurrent triangulatio...

The study employed a multiple a case study design to establish the causes of work-related stress in the East London education District of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Eighteen participants were purposively selected from East London centres. Interviews were used to collect data. Findings revealed that teachers were stressed due to lack o...

This study examined how academic middle managers perceived their role in the planning of curriculum change in private higher education institutions. The question the study sought to answer related to whether academic middle managers believed that they were effective in planning curriculum change. This study used a mixed methods approach that employ...

Mentoring student teachers during the practicum is a pivotal dimension of quality of teacher development. The key determinant of quality of mentoring is, however, the school mentor. This paper reports on a study, which examined the norms and standards that guided selection of school mentors in primary schools in the 1+1 Initial Primary Teacher Educ...

Several issues promote or hinder students’ progress in pursuit of their studies. The present study sought to establish enabling and constraining factors to students’ academic progress in one selected state university in Zimbabwe. The study adopted a descriptive survey approach which utilized both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Informed...

The aim of this comparative cross-sectional study was to assess the competences of school mentors in the Initial Primary Teacher Education (IPTE) mode from the perspective of student teachers and headteachers. The study set out to find answers to the following research questions: (1) what are the competences of school mentors as perceived by studen...

The teaching profession is generally referred to as a noble profession. There are, however, numerous reported cases of professional misconduct by teachers in schools. In this concept paper the researchers explore the concepts professionalism and professional ethics in the teaching profession. The researchers further examine the importance of profes...

The purpose of this empirical study was to investigate teachers’ perceptions of their participation in school based choice of subjects. This was necessitated by complaints from teachers about their insignificant participation in this critical and strategic decision making area, at the same time accusing their school heads of dictatorial tendencies....

The present study sought to establish learners’ views on the learning and teaching of Technology Education (TE) in junior secondary schools in one educational district in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative approaches and adopted a case study design. A purposive sample of 40 learners learn...

The present study examined talent management practices of private higher education institutions (PHEIs) in Botswana. The prime objective of this study, therefore, was to investigate the different talent management strategies PHEIs in Botswana employ to effectively manage talent. This quantitative study utilized a survey design in which data were co...

Apartheid laws of 1949-1953 divided the South African society into racial ethnic groups. These racial ethnic groups were separated from one another in order for rulers to rule a divided society. These laws isolated different races and ethnic groups. In terms of the education sector, the Bantu Education Act did serious damage to Black societies. Law...

Discourse on effective teaching and learning has changed remarkably from the traditional transmission model to the modern transformative model of teaching. In the present paper, the researchers engage in a critical examination of elements that constitute an effective university teacher. The researchers examine the purpose of teaching in the univers...

In this paper the researchers argue that socio-economic and technological changes in the world today have serious implications on the type of a teacher who should be found in the classrooms in the 21st century. Exposing children to teachers who have not been trained to deal with changes in the outer world is tantamount to having wrong men and women...

Teaching Practice (TP) is an important component of teacher training as it affords the trainee important practice before joining the world of work. The present study sought to gather student teachers’ experiences regarding how they felt when being observed while teaching, i.e. when they were on teaching practice, and implications of the findings on...

The study sought to examine causes for the establishment of group lending schemes by women groups in Zimbabwean high density urban areas. A qualitative study located in the interpretive paradigm was employed. A case study design of a purposeful sample of twelve women involved in three group lending schemes participated in the study. Focus group dis...

As the HIV/AIDS pandemic continues to wreak havoc in Zimbabwean communities, there is a noticeable trend of surviving spouses remarrying following the demise of their partners. This qualitative study, located in the interpretive paradigm, sought to establish remarrying partners’ views on causes for remarriages and the extent to which they took prec...

Teachers have different conceptions on the different conditions that should be found in and around the schools in which they work, hence, preferences and choices made in selecting schools to work in. The study sought to examine factors influencing trainee teachers’ choice of school on deployment after training. A mixed method research paradigm was...

The extent to which students’ attain learning outcomes and the overall quality of a qualification is dependent on the extent to which the student is engaged in academic work inside and outside the lecture room. The study sought to establish the extent to which students were engaged in academic work in a Zimbabwean university. The study followed a m...

Technology education is an important factor in every learner’s education. It contributes to the intellectual and practical development of the learners to enable them to cope with the challenges of a technological society. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, this study sought to investigate the extent to which the learning and...

In line with established mission and vision, a university articulates its focus and purpose of existence. The conduct of business in a university should be for the furtherance of the institution’s mission and vision. Teaching and learning should play a pivotal role in driving the purpose of a university. In this paper the researchers examine how se...

What are the cultural, structural and agential conditions which enable and constrain the professional development of academics in their role as teachers, which either encourage or discourage them to take advantage of professional development opportunities afforded by the selected South African University (named the University of Higher Learning (UH...

There is concern in the South African higher education system of the low production of post graduate research graduates. A knowledge economy is driven by skilled and research trained personnel yet the low graduation rates at Masters and PhD levels is a cause for concern. In this paper we interrogate the relationship between a knowledge economy and...

The issue of research-led teaching and learning in universities has revolutionised teaching and learning in universities. In this paper the researchers engage in a critical discussion of the relationship between teaching and research. The researchers advance that a broader understanding should be made on the relationship between the two and outcome...

The study sought to assess the helpfulness of school-based mentors in the nurturing of professional development of student teachers on teaching practice. The study adopted a qualitative case study design in which a purposeful sample of twenty-five final Bachelor of Education students participated. Open ended questionnaires were used as the main and...

Core business in a university centres on curriculum. Teaching, learning, assessment and university products all have a bearing on curriculum. In this discussion paper, the researchers engage in theoretical underpinnings of curriculum development in universities in South Africa. The paper is hinged on the realisation that meaningful curriculum devel...

The reasons why people choose different professions are varied, multifaceted and often controversial. The present study sought to establish trainee teachers’ motivating reasons to train as teachers. A mixed method research paradigm was employed and a case study design was utilised. A convenient sample of seventy trainee teachers in one teacher trai...

Curriculum should ideally be differentiated to suit the needs, capabilities and intelligences of the learners. However, learners are often exposed to an academic oriented curriculum even if this results in failure and production of unemployable school graduates. Underpinned by the multiple intelligences theory, in this paper the researchers explore...

Teaching and learning transactions depend on lecturer attributes which in turn influence the way the way lecturers teach. This study sought to establish how university students in one selected Zimbabwean university assessed their lecturers’ attributes. The study adopted a descriptive survey approach which utilized both qualitative and quantitative...

Teaching and learning are key components of the core business in any university. A teaching and learning agenda that informs teaching and learning in the university should be meticulously designed. In this concept paper the researchers interrogate key considerations in the designing of a university teaching and learning agenda. They start by examin...

ABSTRACT Issues of student throughput and graduation rates are issues of concern in many South African universities. Numerous intervention programmes are put in place to assist students to progress well with their studies and curb failure and subsequent drop out from degree programmes. Student mentoring is one such intervention. The purpose of this...

ABSTRACT The study sought to establish lecturers’ views on factors affecting students’ performance in one School in a South African University. This qualitative study utilised a case study design in which twenty-three purposefully selected practising lecturers participated in the study. Data were collected through individual interviews with partici...

Higher education institutions face a lot of criticism from many stakeholders. One of the criticisms is directed towards the approaches to teaching and learning. The effectiveness of the lecture method has been questioned because of its inherent weaknesses as informed by the transmission pedagogical approaches, yet it continues to be used in univers...

This paper sought to establish how the school system perpetuated the discrimination in society by, failing to accommodate children with special needs in normal classrooms. The ecosystem theories, theories of inclusion and a transformational leadership model underpinned the whole study. The study was a qualitative in nature and made use of purposefu...

The world has become a global village and values such as the upholding of human rights are shared globally. Human rights education promotes values, beliefs and attitudes that encourage all individuals to uphold their own rights and those of others. It develops an understanding of everyone’s common responsibility to make human rights a reality in ea...

The improvement of throughput, graduation and retention rates in South African higher education is a national priority. Student academic performance data in one school at a historically disadvantaged South African university has shown that the pass rates have been declining over the past few years. This decline in pass rates has necessitated the un...

Academic development practitioners in most institutions in South Africa grapple with the issue of identity and establishing themselves in their role of staff developing academics. Informed by Archer’s theory of structure, culture and agency, this qualitative study sought to establish cultural factors enabling or constraining academic developers in...

Discourse in university often revolves around that teaching is common sense business and that anyone can teach. University lecturers as experts in their disciplines often feel they are able to teach and it is up to students to learn. It is against such discourse that calls for the professionalisation of teaching in universities continued to grow. T...

A trace of the history of academic development practices reflect that such programmes have operated for a long time as appendages to the mainstream curriculum. In line with the deficit theory, students in need of academic support have been identified and intervention programmes outside the mainstream curriculum were planned and implemented for such...

In this paper the researchers sought to examine the role of academic developers in universities in the promotion of scholarly teaching (ST) and scholarship of learning and teaching (SOLT). The concepts scholarly teaching and scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education are explained and their differences outlined. The researchers furthe...

In this paper the researchers present a theoretical debate in which they advance the case of doing philosophy with children. It is their case that children in Africa will take their rightful, empowered positions and play meaningful roles in adult life if they are exposed to philosophy in schools from an early age. Throughout the history of ideas, p...

In this qualitative study the researchers adopted a case study design genre and utilized multiple data collection tools: focus group discussions, individual phenomenological interviews and discourse analysis to unmask the patriarchal nature of the Zimbabwean school curriculum. Our analysis of data thus involved content and discourse analyses of cur...

Higher education systems, the world over, operate in different contexts. The South African education system is no exception. This concept paper employs a social realist theoretical framework to examine the influence of context on the South African higher education system. In this concept paper the researchers interrogate the influence of context in...

This study sought to establish students’ perceptions of the usefulness of teaching approaches employed by lecturers in one university in Zimbabwe. The study was informed by the constructivist theory of learning. The study adopted a descriptive survey approach which utilized both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Data were collected from s...

The study sought to explore teachers' views on the nature of issues handled in clusters and how such issues are important in curriculum improvement. The study adopted a descriptive survey approach in which a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches were utilised. It considered insights of teachers from schools in one educational distr...

Teaching and learning in universities should embrace latest philosophies. These philosophies have moved away from the transmission models of instruction to transformative models. This discussion paper located in the social constructivist approaches to learning argues that though the lecture method remains integral as a method of teaching in the uni...

The process of teaching and learning involves the assessment of students in order to monitor the extent to which the intended outcomes and objectives are achieved. Assessment ascertains the extent to which educational learning outcomes are achieved and how students master the concepts taught. In this pape r the researchers interrogate the issue of...

The study sought to establish learners’ views on the significance of their participation in school cocurricular. A quantitative-cum-qualitative descriptive survey design was followed. Data were solicited from learners in both private and public schools in one educational district in South Africa. A convenient sample of 200 learners participated in...

In this paper, the researchers suggest that the engagement of children in philosophical enquiry from an early age can help prepare them for democratic citizenship and help to create future leaders in Africa who are tolerant, respectful of others, committed to social justice and appreciative of the 'otherness' of the 'other'. Although the desire for...