In 2009 we developed an experiential Research Writing course to help academics at our university to become more productive and successful writers. Our aim was to create a stimulating environment in which each participant's voice, knowledge and experience was valued, and where learning was characterised by optimism, creativity and energy. In this…

The higher education scenario in South Africa is fraught with tensions and contradictions. Publicly funded Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) face a particular dilemma. They are expected to fulfill a social mandate which requires a considered response to the needs of the communities in which they are located while simultaneously aspiring for…

The purpose of this study was to explore reasons for academics' apathy towards formal professional development programmes at North-West University. The research design was essentially descriptive, employing both qualitative and quantitative research techniques to gather and analyse data. Three techniques, namely, questionnaire surveys, analysis of…

In response to perceived academic unpreparedness on the part of first year students, in the second semester of 2010 a number of departments in the Faculties of Arts, Commerce, Administration and Law (CAL), and Science at the University of Zululand (Unizulu) opted to use the Department of Higher Education and Training's Teaching Development Grant…

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…

The use of mobile technologies in education has had a major impact on the pedagogy as known and understood by many academics in distance education institutions. Teaching using new technologies requires a variety of skills that are different from what most teachers are familiar with. Therefore, teachers need to be trained on how to use these new…

This article submits that the calibre, attitude and mindset of lecturers/teachers in institutions of Higher Education need drastic improvement and change if academic excellence is to be attainable and sustained in the 21st century. This article builds on the observations by Makondo (2010, 263-276) that most university teaching staff members are…

This articles aims to demystify curriculum and pedagogical discourses and related practices of sectoral occupational fields and qualifications of universities of technology (UoTs). The article takes issue with the academic tradition which emphasises distinctiveness of UoT as a sector that should focus exclusively on applied knowledge that is fixed…

Transformation of higher education in South Africa has resulted in an ongoing need to reflect critically on the relevance and responsiveness of higher education curricula. This article describes two inter-related aspects of curriculum mapping, namely the mapping process and the mapping tool. Based on a case study of a career-oriented business…

In this article I argue for higher education practitioners to take focused action to contribute to transforming their societies into open and democratically negotiated forms of living, and why they should do so. The need is especially urgent in South Africa, whose earlier revolutionary spirit led to massive social change. The kind of social…

Research output affects both the strength and funding of universities. Accordingly university academic staff members are under pressure to be active and productive in research. Though all academics have research interest, all are not producing research output which is accredited by the Department of Education (DOE). We analyzed the demographic and…

Supervision might be understood as the provision usually by an academic to a student of either the expert guidance in subject knowledge or genre knowledge in relation to postgraduate thesis development. The Project for Postgraduate Educational Research (PPER) team members, in the course of their field visits, sought to interview supervisors of…

Students within academic research projects usually assume a role of supporting the academics/scholars who are undertaking those research projects. The students' identity in this case is regarded as research assistants, with minimal valued input to the project itself. With time, however, this identity may change based on the roles and relationships…

The challenges involving doctoral non-completion and a lack of academic or scholarly quality are not restricted to putting the blame on doctoral candidates themselves, their supervisors or the institutions where they enrol. As candidates carry huge responsibilities when entering doctoral studies, success can be associated with an array of factors…

As the wave of educational transformation sweeps across the higher education landscape, few academics have been unaffected by its impact. It has been well documented that academics are ill-prepared to cope with the challenges of educational transformation, yet training and development that would provide the appropriate support to meet the demands…