Evaluation of a training manual for groundwater resource management and groundwater governance for municipalities in South Africa
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Date
2021-11
Authors
De Lange, Johann
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
Groundwater knowledge is crucial in water scarce countries like South Africa. The management of groundwater resources are often neglected, and there is a lack of proper knowledge in groundwater as a discipline. It is vital that countries such as South Africa enlighten the public and knowledgeable individuals about groundwater. Groundwater resource management and groundwater governance in municipalities is required to improve groundwater management and governance. The enhancement of knowledge and skills will improve groundwater governance and management and educate individuals on groundwater use, sustainability, and protection. These problems can be resolved by developing and providing an easy-access platform. The platform provides individuals from various disciplines with sufficient information to gain general knowledge of groundwater. The development of an easy-access platform (Thinkific) provided an easy gateway to narrow the bridge between groundwater and individuals and was used to determine the effectiveness of the “Training Manual for Groundwater Resource Management and Groundwater Governance for Municipalities in South Africa”. Within this dissertation, the effectiveness of the training manual was significantly proven on a sample of 55 young working adults (participants). The data collected from numerous participants provided a holistic perspective of the effectiveness of the dissertation. Different types of quantitative statistical techniques were used to collect, analyse, and display the data. The main concept revolved around the Kirkpatrick’s evaluation method. Only the first two levels of this evaluation model were utilised. Participants wrote pre- and post-tests and completed evaluation questionnaires. This was done to establish the enhanced level of knowledge within participants and to gather reactions regarding perception and satisfaction of the training manual. These tests indicate the effectiveness of the training manual. The data gathered from this training manual show that it is significant to use the training manual as a foundation for groundwater knowledge. The groundwater content in this training manual is sufficient to use for training.
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Keywords
Dissertation (M.Sc. (Geohydrology))--University of the Free State, 2021, Groundwater flow -- South Africa, Groundwater resource management