Whose fault is failure? Contested perspectives of academic support in tertiary educational institutions in South Africa (original) (raw)
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In response to widening participation in vocational colleges, the South African Department of Higher Education and Training has prioritised the development of student support services in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. The present study investigates how students in a TVET college in South Africa reason and deliberate about academic support and what socio-cultural beliefs shape this. The study employs an interpretative methodology, using interviews with students and researcher immersion in the research site. The study finds that students consider in-classroom instruction to be the primary source of academic support provided by the college. Students consider support provided by the lecturer outside of class to be discretionary and auxiliary. The study subsequently identifies four themes of socio-cultural beliefs which shape students’ deliberations about academic support. These pertain to the nature of college, expectations of college, personal responsibility, and embarrassment. The study then reflects on the contemporary literature and the implications for the design and implementation of student support services, and suggests directions for further research.
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South Africa’s legacy of unequal access to learning opportunities and the need to create a conducive technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector for a diversified student population has exposed a need for comprehensive learner support. The introduction by the Department of Higher Education and Training in 2017 of the Open Learning Policy Framework, which has an explicit social justice ambition, has recognized the salience of student support systems (SSS) at TVET colleges. However, the extent to which the current TVET student support models are designed to encompass open learning practices and the extent to which they are indeed socially just is not yet known. This chapter examines how SSS (as a means of enacting open learning principles) endeavour to create a socially just environment for students to have access to (pre-entry), progress through (on-course), and success (at exit) in a TVET college. The chapter employs Nancy Fraser’s (2005) theory of social justice, ...
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This article explores the provision and effectiveness of student support in higher education through a review of literature and a case study of the support available to students in one English post‐1992 university. Our investigation focuses on students’ awareness and experience of both university‐wide student support and guidance services and the more localised departmental support provided by tutors and study skills advisors. Data were collected through focus groups and a follow‐up questionnaire to students and semi‐structured interviews with academic staff. The findings indicate low awareness and little take‐up of institutional support services and high take‐up and generally positive experiences of departmental support. However, within this generally positive trend, there is some variation in individual experiences of accessing and using departmental support. Suggestions for improving support stress that consistent and equitable support for all students should be equally available and accessible across all the campuses of a university
The huge increase in students enrolling in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector and the huge budgetary allocation underscore the South African Government's commitment and recognition of the sector as critical to curbing the skills shortage in the country. Mojapelo and Faku (2020) assert that the post-apartheid South African government introduced TVET Colleges to complement universities to provide much-needed practical skills for youth employment, economic growth, and university education. In explaining, Mirabel, Diale, and Sewagegn (2022) postulate that the TVET sector in South Africa was meant to eradicate the cycle of poverty through employment creation among young adults. The TVET sector curriculum provides practical programs that wide career options and continuous learning among the youths (Mirabel et al., 2020). The Student Support Services Annual Plan illustrates the huge number of students enrolled at TVET colleges in South Africa, which shows that in 2018, TVET Colleges constituted a third of students enrolled in tertiary institutions. (Department of Higher Education, 2020). Tertiary institutions are bequeathed with the fundamental role of equipping the youth with the relevant skills and aptitudes (Santos, Marques, Justino, & Mendes, 2020). South Africa's TVET sector accommodates students from different backgrounds, and the students experience unique challenges that interfere with their integration process. Deluborn, Marongwe, and Buka (2020) acknowledge diversity among the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Colleges (TVETs) population by asserting that students