Research papers take a long time to write and in an academic environment where the "publish or perish" clause applies, writing retreats are a way of creating time and space to write academic articles in a concentrated period of time. This article examines ways in which academics can write more articles for publication. In particular it…

This work investigates the promise of Facebook and blogs for enhancing students' levels of engagement in learning. This issue warrants investigation because there is little published empirical work on the subject. The researchers applied a learning ecology perspective to study the potential of Facebook and blogs in enhancing student levels of…

Although much has been written on the need to integrate HIV into tertiary education programmes, very little research has been done in terms of how it should be done. This article will report on the first phase of a larger action research project designed to research, develop and evaluate best practices for the transformation of the curricula of…

The problem explored is the relatively low research output at a merged Higher Education Institution (HEI). The re-landscaping of how HEIs operate, has impacted on merged institutions, especially those of a comprehensive nature, that are facing the challenge of improving research output. This article is based on research conducted for a Master's…

As the government seeks to foster a degree of self-sufficiency in terms of income generation through output, universities are forced to rely on performativity from staff to become more entrepreneurial. Following on the articles by Waghid (2009), Le Grange (2009), Reddy, Le Grange and Fataar (2010), and Smeyers and Waghid (2009) among others, this…

Aim: This article presents preliminary results of a cross cultural study of gender and management in universities. Methodology: Qualitative interviews with senior managers in each country were analysed in relation to key concepts of career paths, support, gate keeping, management skills, disciplinary factors, gendered leadership styles and…

During a content and language project at a University of Technology (UoT) in Cape Town, South Africa, pairs of language and content lecturers, whose broad definition of integration was "the provision of linguistic access to content knowledge", co-authored ten integrated textbooks. Their intention was to assist first year learners with…

A study of academic staff at a South African university of technology used questionnaires and interviews to understand perceptions and experiences related to inclusion and exclusion. Taking critical race theory as the theoretical framework, the study revealed high levels of anger amongst staff of different racial identities. Expressions of…

Mentor development in higher education in Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Botswana is explored in this article. Changes in education policy require mentors to engage in individual as well as organisational change and transformation. Most studies focus on mentee development and the resulting organisational change but there is very little…

In this article we argue that higher education institutions ought to be a reflection of society: its vision, values, conscience and ways of doing. It has as its task the production of "human capital" for participation in a global economy and by virtue of its position in society, ought to be able to do justice to that. In this article we…

The aim of the research was to critically analyse how a university context influences the quality of academics' research output. Wenger's social theory of learning was used as theoretical framework. The investigation involved an ethnographic case study of the research culture at one college at the institution. Data collection was mainly by means…

This article reports on an analysis of person attributes of e-learning practitioners at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). Findings from a study of the latent structure of an e-learning practitioner construct, are presented to illuminate the characteristics and personal profiles of the e-learning practitioners at TUT. Rich sources of…

This article originates from a research conducted at a Historically Disadvantaged Institution (HDI) in South Africa. Academics (those who teach) at higher education institutions (HEIs) are usually highly qualified personnel. Their satisfaction with the terms and conditions of service and the job satisfaction they derive from and through their work…

After determining the perceptions of postgraduate students at a distance education institution of the guidance they had experienced, a research project was launched to determine "lecturers'" views on supervision at the same institution. Data collection methods included focus groups, individual interviews and document analysis. Findings…