The professional experiences of early career counselling psychologists in South Africa: a mixed method study
- Authors: Haine, Phillipa Claire
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Counseling psychology South Africa , Career development , Counseling psychologists Training of South Africa , Mixed methods research , Interpretative phenomenological analysis
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/432321 , vital:72861 , DOI 10.21504/10962/432322
- Description: Counselling psychologists represent a considerable proportion of psychologists in South Africa (SA), yet knowledge on the discipline’s workforce is limited. In addition, professional lifespan issues have received inadequate attention, inclusive of the early career stage, identified as an exceptionally vulnerable segment of the professional lifespan. Undergirded by an interpretative phenomenology research paradigm, this mixed method sequential explanatory study, consisting of two distinct phases, aimed to explore the professional experiences of early career counselling psychologists (counselling ECPs) in SA, inclusive of employment trends, challenges and support needs. The quantitative phase (‘First Phase’) comprised of an online survey questionnaire (n = 512) to investigate the employment trends of counselling ECPs in SA. A qualitative phase (‘Second Phase’) followed, comprising of online semi-structured interviews with ten counselling ECPs. The rationale for this was that the preliminary quantitative data provided a broad understanding of the research problem, whereas the qualitative data sought to expand on the quantitative data by exploring the participants’ experiences in depth. Moreover, the collection of quantitative data provided a strong justification and phenomenological orientation for the second, qualitative, phase. The data from the two research phases were combined within a joint discussion to ensure a level of methodological complementarity and a more holistic understanding of the data captured. Trends from the first, quantitative, phase demonstrated that counselling ECPs differed across various domains from more senior generations. In the second, qualitative, phase, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the data revealed three Group Experiential Themes: i) Complexity of finding and securing work, ii) Navigating an array of personal, professional and systemic challenges, and iii) Support as self-acquired. Overall, the findings suggest that counselling ECPs in SA face a variety of challenges upon entering the workforce, enhanced support is thus needed for this new, more diverse cohort of practitioners. Actionable recommendations are offered at various levels. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2023
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- Date Issued: 2023-10-13
Career counselling in the context of Industry 4.0: A systematic literature review
- Authors: Chintokoma, Kudzai Ashley
- Date: 2022-04
- Subjects: Career development , Career changes
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/57589 , vital:58102
- Description: The researcher’s main aim was to summarise and evaluate the existing body of knowledge of career counselling practices, theory and models that can be used as a tool to help individuals cope or manage change in a contemporary work environment. The findings show that the world of work has changed due to technological advancement associated with Industry 4.0, resulting in careers becoming short term. More so, given the increasing speed at which current occupations are changing, people are forced to familiarize themselves with new occupations and industries that might offer new employment opportunities and career prospects. Based on a systematic literature review, the study holds the practical implication that with the help of evolving career counselling practices and HR processes, organisations can help employees attain a meaningful career and wellbeing in the digital era, through paying more attention to enabling interventions that help individuals develop self-regulatory future fit career self-management capabilities. This support system can be of assistance if they understand how employees’ identity in the demonstration of self-management capability can be developed and sustained both in the short and long run. Overall, the literature was effective and quite convincing in its call to discuss the pressing issues that come as a result of industry 4.0. The proposition is that career support should be promoted more and become an important policy within organisations in the digital era. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Business and Economic science, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-04
Rethinking our understanding of career decision making: the views of students at a selected South African TVET colleges on what influences their career decisions
- Authors: Maluleke, Lucky
- Date: 2022-04
- Subjects: Career -- Decision making , Postsecondary education -- South Africa , Career development
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral thesis , Thesis
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/56044 , vital:54946
- Description: In South Africa, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) has been identified as a potential solution to the triple challenge of inequality, poverty and unemployment. The 2013 White Paper for Post-School Education and Training: Building on Expanded, Effective and Integrated Post-School Education (DHET, 2013) identifies TVET colleges as an area of great expansion. Although such an expansion is important and necessary, it is unfortunate that in South Africa, research has paid little to no attention to what influences TVET college students' career decision making. Concerning this, the study reported in this dissertation aimed to investigate what influences the career decision making of TVET college students in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, Eastern Cape, South Africa. This qualitative study, located within the subjectivist ontology and interpretivist epistemology, contributes to understanding what influences the career decision making of TVET college students in a developing context of South Africa. Drawing on qualitative (individual and group) interviews with students, it examined the career decisions of a small sample of students enrolled at one South African public TVET college in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro. In so doing, the study brings four elements to the study of career decision making. Firstly, empirically, it brings a fresh and subjective perspective of what 'TVET' and 'career' means to TVET students. Secondly, it brings to the literature on TVET, an analysis of the Careership Theory that draws from the TVET college students' experiences. Thirdly, it brings to our understanding of career decision making, the role of structure and agency from a Bourdieusian2 perspective. Fourthly, it transcends the heavily critiqued Bourdieusian model to encompass the notion of capacity to aspire, borrowed from Arjun Appadurai, to better explain the role of culture in social action. Data were collected using individual and group interview methods, which were later transcribed and analysed thematically. The findings show that career decision making is dependent on the perceptions of the primary decision makers and other social agents that learners interacted with in the field. Career decision making is situated in the vast social inequalities and unequal power relations shaped by unequal access to cultural, economic and social capital. However, as much as social structures influence career decision making, the role of agency must not be underestimated. The findings further reveal that career decisions are located in the objective and social structures, and these are influenced by capital (cultural, economic and social). Furthermore, career decisions are influenced by the capacity of the individuals to choose, to know what to choose, as well as structural enablers like finance. In short, the findings reveal that inequalities matter, for example, socio-economic and gender disparities. , Thesis (DEd) -- Faculty of Education, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-04
An analysis of the employability of civil engineering graduate technicians
- Authors: Ikudayisi, Akinola Mayowa
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: Job hunting , Career development , Labor market
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/51578 , vital:43312
- Description: In South Africa, a severe shortage of professional engineers exists compared to the international benchmark of an average population per engineer. This shortage is one of the major causes of poor service and utility delivery at the municipal level. In addition, there is an insufficient number of competent engineers available for ongoing projects. Hence, there is a critical shortage of experienced, engineering professionals, particularly mid-career engineers to be responsible for production works. As a result, Universities of Technology (UoT) were tasked and authorised to train engineering professionals. From research, it was discovered that most of the Civil Engineering Graduate Technicians (CEGT) failed to acquire and develop relevant and essential industry skills during their engineering programme. This makes it difficult for them to be employed in the engineering workplaces. The departments of civil engineering in some South African universities have not evaluated the quality of the education of their CEGT and their employability to work in the engineering industry. This research therefore aims to measure the employability and quality of education of Civil Engineering Graduate Technicians from some South African universities by investigating the experiences of civil engineering alumni and employers of graduates in the engineering industry. This is to determine if the graduate technicians are provided and equipped with relevant industry competencies and skills set to meet the industry’s expectation. An online survey which contains 89 closed-ended questions was designed to allow alumni and their employers assess the standard of education of graduates and industry competence acquired during their engineering programmes. The Universal Resource Link (URL) to the online questionnaire was sent to a sample of 600 respondents using a web-based survey approach. Only seventeen percent of the targeted population completed the survey and that makes 102 respondents in this study. A conceptual model that measures the employability of Civil Engineering Graduate Technicians was also developed. The data gathered was statistically analysed. Varying descriptive and inferential statistics were explored, such as frequency distributions, central measure, dispersion measure, the Cronbach alpha coefficient test, one-sample t-tests, Cohen’s d, Pearson’s product moment correlation, ANOVA, MANOVA, ranking indices and lastly, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). The EFA was employed to ensure the construct validity of the instrument and to identify items which should be removed. Each of these statistics cumulatively performs an empirical evaluation of the Civil Engineering Graduate Technician employability model. From the result of the data analysis, the hypothesised model identified the following factors as having an influence on the employability of Civil Engineering Graduate Technicians: Knowledge Gained, Academic Staff Teaching, Engineering Design Ability, Individual and Teamwork Ability, Participation of each Student, Infrastructure Provided, Problem Solving Skills, Professional and Technical Communication Skills, Workplace Practices, Encouragement in School and Essentiality of Creativity and Innovation. These eleven independent factors from Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient were all found to possess good internal reliability. They all exert a significant positive effect on employability. Additionally, managerial recommendations, limitations to the study and a call for future research were discussed. If these recommendations are implemented, UoTs and employers in the civil engineering industry should be successful in producing work-ready civil engineering technicians. Having these recommendations implemented is fundamental to creating innovative and skilled technicians and engineers in the engineering industry, who can adapt to market changes. Of the competencies assessed, “Individual and Teamwork ability” received the highest and “Infrastructure provided” the lowest rating. Overall, the results indicate that employers are reasonably satisfied with the competencies of Civil Engineering Graduate Technicians but point to the need for the strengthening of “Engineering design ability”, “Professional and technical communication skills” and “Infrastructure provided” competencies within the curriculum of the Diploma programme. , Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, Business Administration, 2021
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- Date Issued: 2021-04
Personal development preferences across generations and implications for organisations
- Authors: Berry, Simone Michelle
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Career development
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/36544 , vital:33964
- Description: Due to generational differences in organisations, it is sensible to determine the learning preferences of professional employees across generations so that organisations can provide learning opportunities that these employees will embrace. The purpose of this study was therefore to determine the personal development preferences of professional employees from different generations within corporate organisations in Cape Town. The research intends to aid organisations that upskill their employees and to ensure they are utilising the most effective and efficient methods. To this effect, a survey with a self-administered questionnaire was provided to 59 professional employees across several generations utilising a Likert scale where the participants were able to rate the different developmental strategies based on their preferences. The results revealed that similarities existed between the generations in relation to their preferences; however, younger generations were more likely to be open to several personal development strategies, whereas older generations had a refined preference they have developed over the years. It is consequently recommended to organisations to customise their training methods to the different generational groups, based on their preferences and thereby to use this method to aid professional employees in understanding each other.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Factors affecting the career advancement of black women in a selected manufacturing firm in Gauteng
- Authors: Netnou, Zola Nomzamo Joan
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Women in the professions -- South Africa -- Gauteng , Career development , Women -- Employment -- Economical aspects , Sex role in the work environment , Sexual division of labor
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/33578 , vital:32889
- Description: Career advancement is viewed as an important element of job satisfaction and employee retention, however the gender differences observed in the workplace globally mean that there is gender inequality even in career growth. With South Africa’s long history of discrimination, career advancement disparities are observed along racial and gender lines. The current study’s focus is on the factors affecting the career advancement of a group of black women working for a selected manufacturing firm in Gauteng. The study highlights the importance of both the individual and the organisation in driving career advancement and asserts that there are self-driven and employer-driven factors affecting the career growth of black women employed by the selected firm. The primary objective of this study was to investigate and analyse factors affecting the career advancement of South African black African women (hereafter referred to as black women) employed by the manufacturing company. After a comprehensive literature study, three self-driven factors (pre-career choices, career capital development and attitude towards gender discrimination) and three employer-driven factors (mentorship opportunities, organisational leadership and organisational culture) were identified as factors affecting career advancement. These were subsequently empirically tested. A quantitative research paradigm was adopted for this study. The sample chosen was the entire population of black women employed by the business in question. Using the survey research method, a structured questionnaire was distributed resulting in an 85% response rate. Cronbach’s alpha was employed to test the reliability or internal consistency of the research instruments, resulting in the minimum acceptable level of 0.70 being met. The data collected were subjected to statistical analyses using simple regression analysis, one-factor Anova and descriptive statistics. The simple regression analysis revealed that pre-career choices had a statistically significant positive influence on career advancement. Furthermore, the findings suggest a link between education and employability, as the majority of the respondents (53%) possessed tertiary qualifications. Although no empirical evidence was found to support the influence of the other five factors on career advancement, the use of descriptive statistics revealed clear differences brought about by variations in education, such as the significantly higher levels of career capital for respondents with post-graduate qualifications in comparison to the total sample. The findings of this study informed the recommendations made to promote the career advancement of the black women employed by the selected firm. These were recommendations for individuals to enhance their career capital through education and the pursuit of career goals, and for the organisation to support career development with a conducive environment that values all employees and affords them equal opportunities for growth.
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- Date Issued: 2018
Storying the career development of black South African female university students
- Authors: Chetty, Candice
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Career development , Counseling in higher education , College students, Black
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9974 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021056
- Description: Career psychology in South Africa has traditionally been constituted by assessment methods, counselling practices and research objectives of a modernist-positivist paradigm. This paradigm has been limited in its consideration and integration of the broad range of contextual factors that may influence the career development of individuals. This study is based on the Systems Theory Framework of career development, an overarching theoretical framework of career development that is able to acknowledge the complexity of career development processes and assist in engaging with contexts of that complexity. Seven Xhosa-speaking Black South African female university students were invited to story their career development within their unique individual contexts. In collaborating with the participants, the study adopted an exploratory collective case study research design. The My Systems of Career Influences reflection process was primarily used to obtain the qualitative data. Based on the need that arose in the career counselling process, the quantitative data were generated from the Values Scale (VS), the Life Roles Inventory (LRI), the Commitment to Career Choices Scale (CCCS), and the Jung Personality Questionnaire (JPQ). The study is particularly relevant given the growing need for the development of non-discriminatory career assessment and counselling collaborations between counsellors and clients who need to navigate unique and diverse South African contexts. Key words: career counselling, career development, constructivism, My System of Career Influences (MSCI), narrative career counselling, qualitative career assessment, South African female university students, storytelling approach, Systems Theory Framework (STF).
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- Date Issued: 2014
Talent management as a strategy to promote succession of junior managers at Edgars
- Authors: Walters, Charles
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Organizational effectiveness , Occupation , Career development , Success in business
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/47837 , vital:40385
- Description: Talent Management has become one of the biggest challenges facing businesses today. With the skill shortage and the influx of clothing retailers into South Africa in the past two years, the war on talent has intensified. With this in mind the objective of the study was to investigate if Edgars had a successful talent management strategy to promote junior managers through succession. Talent management has different parts including recruitment, learning and development, performance management, reward, leadership, employee value proposition, retention and succession. This study unpacks the literature on talent management and its components and takes a deeper look at the strategy adopted by Edgars. The study highlights the importance of talent management and that there should be clear strategies for every part that makes up the talent management framework. Empirical studies are done on the different sub sections of talent management, findings and recommendations are reported in the final chapters. The target population for this study consisted of junior managers at Edgars, where the majority of key value roles critical for development and store manager succession are. A sample of forty respondents was randomly selected from the total junior management population at Edgars. The findings suggested that when an organisation has effective talent management strategy, it is more likely to create a compelling employee value proposition that is conducive to sustain succession of great talent. Furthermore, the findings revealed that Edgars is effective in applying certain talent strategies while other areas required more attention and focus.
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- Date Issued: 2014
The use of contextually appropriate analogies to teach direct current electric circuit concepts to isiXhosa speaking learners
- Authors: Simayi, Ayanda
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Analogy in science education , Career development , Xhosa language -- Analogy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:9570 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1016161
- Description: The study investigates the effects of a professional development strategy which focuses on the use of a contextually appropriate analogy on the development of isiXhosa speaking learners‟ conceptual understanding in direct current electric circuits, where the language of instruction is English. An action research design was implemented, using three data collection cycles to document the research journey. The sample comprised of two Grade 8 and 9 classes drawn (with their respective Natural Sciences teachers) from two neighbouring, township schools in Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipal area. Qualitative data were generated from interviews and classroom observation of the two science teachers (a qualified and an unqualified teacher) and learners, over a span of two years. Thematic data analysis revealed that ESL learners have alternative conceptions in simple circuits and teachers have no knowledge about analogies that can be used to teach simple circuits. A professional development was designed as a strategy, targeting the development of the Science Content Knowledge (SCK) and Topic Specific Content Pedagogic Content Knowledge (TPSCK) of the teachers. Data analysis of the professional development initiative (PDI) suggests that the teachers developed increased knowledge of concepts and teaching strategies used in teaching simple circuits, selected a contextually appropriate analogy and taught a lesson in simple circuits using the selected analogy. Analysis of learners‟ post-test results suggests that the implementation of the selected analogy developed their conceptual understanding as more learners developed the correct, scientific model of reasoning. The results of the study suggest that when teachers are given support by being exposed to professional development; their scientific reasoning, confidence and classroom climate become more positive and learners‟ conceptual understanding improves.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Foundation phase teachers' continuous professional development
- Authors: Gallant, Reinhold Justin
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Foundation phase , Education, Higher , Identity (Philosophical concept) , Career development , Teachers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:9448 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1007898 , Foundation phase , Education, Higher , Identity (Philosophical concept) , Career development , Teachers
- Description: This research was based on the question of how Foundation Phase teachers perceived and experienced their professional development. This study was done at a school in the Northern Areas of Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa. The school is situated in a developing community that has a low socio-economic status characterised by infrastructural challenges. The school is newly established and started the year 2012 with mostly newly qualified teachers. In this study, the researcher wanted to know how the participants’ perceptions and experiences as teachers impact on their professional development. The review of relevant literature provided a conceptual framework for the study. This study explored the fact that a social constructivist theory is relevant for the professional development of foundation phase teachers. This theory is based on the fact that teachers construct their own knowledge and that more emphasis should be placed on theory within teachers’ practice. A qualitative research approach was suitable for this study. The data for the study was obtained by using photovoice and focus group interviews. The most important theme that emerged from the data collection was that the physical environment of the school and the surrounding area played a major role in how the teachers experienced their development. Other themes that emerged from the study were the need for educational resources, teacher collaboration and leadership. The findings show that more emphasis should be placed on the professional development of Foundation Phase teachers. Schools in poverty stricken areas of South Africa have an impact on how teachers experience their professional development. It has become clear that places of higher education need to consider the contexts in which schools are situated, especially in poverty stricken areas. Foundation Phase teachers are a vital part of education and as such the training of teachers in this phase should develop around whole-person learning within a life-long learning framework.
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- Date Issued: 2012
Analysis of the factors influencing job performance in the ICT sector in South Africa
- Authors: Lascot, Paul Michael John
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Job satisfaction , Career development , Employees -- Training of
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8703 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1009530 , Job satisfaction , Career development , Employees -- Training of
- Description: To achieve efficacy in the work place, employees need to perform at optimal levels. Researching and implementing strategies to improve job performance are fundamentally important to the development of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in South Africa. However, scant research had been performed in this area. This study sought to present exploratory research in this emergent, rapidly expanding sector of the South African economy. Its primary aim was to investigate which affective factors exhibited an influence on job performance of workers in this sector. Mixed methods research was employed to analyse factors contributing to the five independent variables of demographics, skills and education, job satisfaction, motivation and experience, by investigating their influence on the dependent variable of job performance. The five independent variables were presented within a proposed conceptual framework of related and grouped affective factors. An online survey was constructed to collect data and perceptions from individuals currently employed in any capacity, in the ICT sector in South Africa. Ninety-nine suitable responses were received. The simple statistical technique of chi-square testing for independence was used to test the hypothesised relationships between the above-mentioned independent variables and the dependent variable of job performance. The empirical results revealed that many of the affective factors influencing the job performance of employees in the ICT sector in South Africa, are those that contribute to job satisfaction and motivation. These include aspects such as fair remuneration; transparent and clear organisational communication; managerial support and guidance; access to educational and career opportunities; and pleasant workplaces. In view of these findings, the study concluded that organisations that wish to improve their employees’ job performance, or attract and retain high-performing individuals, should formulate and implement policies and strategies that take into account these significant factors.
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- Date Issued: 2011
Childhood development and career development in eight year-old South African girls
- Authors: Van der Westhuyzen, Nicole Tamsin
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Childhood development , Career development , Griffiths scales of mental development , Early childhood education -- Vocational guidance -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9942 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012969
- Description: Although it is generally acknowledged that critical career-related concepts and attitudes are first formed in childhood, research has focused little attention on this developmental stage. Statements about children‘s career development as an integral dimension of human development date to the early 1950s, yet limited research has investigated this interrelationship. It is imperative to gain a greater understanding of childhood career development in order to better prepare children for their future. The overall purpose of this study is to explore the interrelationship of childhood development and childhood career development. An exploratory-descriptive quantitative research method was used. Thirty participants (all eight year-old girls from a middle class, English speaking background) were selected through non-probability purposive sampling. Data were gathered from the Griffiths Mental Development Scales – Extended Revised (GMDS-ER) and the Childhood Career Development Scale (CCDS) and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicated a correlation, although not statistically significant, between childhood development and childhood career development, thus indicating a weak positive correlation between the two variables. Statistically significant relationships were established between certain subscales of the GMDS-ER and CCDS, namely Language and Exploration, Eye-Hand Co-ordination and Key Figures, and Practical Reasoning and Planning. The results from this study, although not conclusive, are groundbreaking in this neglected area of research as they indicate an interrelationship between childhood development and childhood career development. This research is an initial step in investigating this interrelationship and it is the hope of the researcher that it will stimulate further research in this area.
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- Date Issued: 2011
National case study : teacher professional development with an education for sustainable development focus in South Africa: development of a network, curriculum framework and resources for teacher education
- Authors: Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Teachers -- Training of , Career development , Sustainable development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59646 , vital:27634 , https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajee/article/view/122242
- Description: This national case study reports on the development of a national network, curriculum framework and resources for teacher education, with specific focus on the inclusion of environment and sustainability, also known as education for sustainable development (ESD) in the South African teacher education system. It reviews and reports on the history of environment and sustainability education in teacher education, and from this, the national case study begins to conceptualise a new approach to environment and sustainability teacher education within a new curriculum policy environment, and a new teacher education and development policy environment. Action research case study methodology is used to document the first phase of the emergence of this network, and this report covers Phase 1 of the initiative, which covers formation of the network, review of previous practices, three conceptual development pilot studies undertaken in both in-service and pre-service teacher education environments and a piloting of a ‘Train the Trainers’ or ‘Educate the Teacher Educators’ programme, which complements and extends the actual teacher education and development (TED) programme under development. The study highlights critical insights of relevance to the shift to a content referenced curriculum in South Africa, and shows how the ‘knowledge mix’ which forms the foundation of the new Teacher Education Qualifications Framework can be engaged. It also highlights some features of the changing knowledge environment, and what dominant knowledge practices are in environment and sustainability-related teaching and teacher education practices, opening these up for further scrutiny. It raises concerns that dominant knowledge work, while integrating a range of forms of knowledge (as is expected of the teacher education system under the new policy), tends to be limited by content on problems and issues for raising awareness, and fails to develop deeper conceptual depth and understanding of environment and sustainability, as issues based knowledge dominates. Similarly, it fails to support social innovation as a response to environment and sustainability concerns, as awareness raising dominates in dominant knowledge work. The study provides a revised conceptual framework for the Teacher Development Network (TEDN) programme, with guidance on key elements necessary to take the programme forward in Phase 2.
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- Date Issued: 2011
Effective management of an information technology professional's career
- Authors: Tedder, Derek
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Information technology -- Vocational guidance , Information technology -- Management , Knowledge management , Career development , Computer Science -- Vocational guidance , System analysis -- Vocational guidance
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1148 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004543 , Information technology -- Vocational guidance , Information technology -- Management , Knowledge management , Career development , Computer Science -- Vocational guidance , System analysis -- Vocational guidance
- Description: The human resource is constantly cited as an organisation's greatest asset. In a rapidly changing technological environment this is most applicable to the Information Technology (IT) function. Organisations are experiencing IT human resource problems such as low satisfaction, early plateauing, high turnover, burnout, limited advancement potential, nominal corporate commitment, supervisory aversion, poor organisational culture, and exceptional compensation. These problems are directly related to the IT professional's career. There is a lack of information and awareness surrounding IT careers to deal effectively with these problems. The research aims to create increased awareness of IT careers and the inherent problems through the development of a career management model. The research aims to identify the factors that influence IT careers, provide career management with a means to measure compatibility of the factors, and suggest solutions to incompatibility. The solving of this problem will be of mutual benefit to both organisations and individuals as they seek to better manage IT careers. After reviewing research literature relating to career anchors, IT job types, IT skills portfolios, and career dynamics a model for Effective IT Career Management (EITCM) has been constructed. The model represents the dynamic interactions between individual, organisational, and dependent factors. The model examines the compatibility of these interacting factors by measuring the levels of relevant career variables. The model suggests appropriate career management techniques to increase the compatibility of the interacting factors. An empirical study was designed and launched online to provide data that would confirm the seven Critical Success Factors (CSF) relating to the proposed model. The responses from the members of the Computer Society of South Africa (CSSA) allowed the seven hypotheses derived from the CSFs to be tested. The results of the empirical study were positive but required modification to five of the CSFs before they could be confirmed. The EITCM model was modified to reflect the improved CSFs. An awareness of career influencing factors combined with active career management is advantageous to both IT professionals and their organisations.
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- Date Issued: 2005