Masters Degrees (School of Higher Education Studies)
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Browsing Masters Degrees (School of Higher Education Studies) by Author "Combrinck, G. P."
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Item Open Access An evaluation of the engineering studies curriculum at Ikhala Public Further Education and Training College(University of the Free State, 2009-12) Nyaba, Mkululi Kaizer; Van Schoor, J. H.; Combrinck, G. P.English: Further Education and Training (FET) colleges have the task of educating and training young people for entry into the workplace, for self-employment, for higher education studies and for up skilling and re-skilling competence levels (Nzimande 2009). This means that the FET curricula and their close link to the professional world make it a sector that contributes to most of the training of a sufficiently skilled workforce that would meet the labour market demands. Technical and vocational education and training is essential in this regard because no country can meet its economic and social demands without a skilled work/labour force. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to evaluate the National Education (NATED) Engineering curriculum at the Ezibeleni Engineering Campus to determine whether the curriculum is appropriate in preparing the students sufficiently for a career in engineering opportunities. Certain shortcomings in the NATED curricula are identified in this study and innovations are recommended with the aim of contributing to the establishment of a consistent engineering curriculum which will be able to meet the technological developments and inculcate the skills required in the world of work. With the inception of the new National Certificate (Vocational) (NC (V)) curriculum in 2007 and the phasing out of the NATED curriculum by the end of 2009, more areas for research are created in the FET college sector. Only the future will tell whether the new NC (V) curricula will be an improvement on the NATED curriculum. In an attempt to evaluate the Engineering curriculum and to determine the appropriateness thereof, the researcher employed qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Valuable insights were derived from the literature study which served as a basis for the questions that were asked during the interviews and for the questions that were included in the questionnaire survey that were distributed among the academic staff. By mixing qualitative and quantitative methods the researcher aimed to triangulate the findings from the interviews and the questionnaire survey to enhance the validity and reliability of the study (Maree 2007:80). The findings of the interviews and survey were finally interpreted in terms of responses pertaining to the problem that was investigated. Despite the fact that the NATED curriculum is currently being phased out, critical shortcomings have been identified such as, interalia, the non-alignment of the engineering curriculum with the professional world, theory and practice that are not linked, inability to accommodate apprentices, and non-compliance with the SAQA (South African Qualifications Authority) requirements. The study concluded by recommending that FET College engineering programmes should be taken to a new level to make them acceptable to universities, universities of technology and to the industry in South Africa. FET colleges should begin to take the responsibility for arranging work placement for their students. The Department of education, FET colleges and industry should form collaborative partnerships to develop colleges as specialist or niche centres for vocational and technical excellence.Item Open Access Die integrasie van rekenaarondersteunde tekeninge as hulpmiddel in die onderrig van onderwysstudente in ingenieursgrafika en –ontwerp(University of the Free State, 2014-01) Viljoen, Wynand Johannes; Van Schoor, J. H.; Combrinck, G. P.English: This study was undertaken to determine which changes CAD, as new technology, brought to hand-made drawings. CAD is the drawing instrument with which engineering drawing in future will be done on the computer. CAD as drawing instrument ensures neat, accurate drawings of photo and video quality. These quality drawings can be sent within minutes to almost any place in the world. A 3DP can be made from a 3D CAD drawing, which allows a designer’s imagination free reins. The problem which was investigated in this study is the integration of computer-aided drawing (CAD) as an essential aid in the teaching-learning of EGD teacher students in a B.Ed. programme at the Central University of Technology. The literature study was aimed at determining what computer-aided drawing (CAD) is. A qualitative and quantitative research method was used in action research to address the research problem. Data were collected by means of questionnaires, interviews and observation. During the empirical investigation respondents had to answer questions regarding questions about how the teaching in CAD contributed to the effective training of EGD teacher students at the CUT, which challenges stood in the way of integration of CAD in the B.Ed.Technology programme, what were the experiences of the EGD students in terms of CAD teaching-learning, and what contribution CAD could make to the training of future EGD teachers. With the study the importance of the integration of CAD in the curriculum of EGD is emphasised, and the role 3DP can play in EGD and in schools was investigated. In the study it is recommended that CAD should be integrated with EGD and that the EGD curricula for schools and universities should be reviewed.