Browsing by Author "Wangenge-Ouma, Gerald"

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    An analysis of the governance of higher education access in malawi
    (University of the Western Cape, 2013-01) Chivwara, Nita; Wangenge-Ouma, Gerald
    Over the past few years researchers have been studying access reforms, as well as uncovering challenges related to systems with low participation rates; Examples of this type of work are Teferra and Altbach (2003), Maharasoa (2003) and World Bank (2008). A key factor often addressed are various reforms related to access policies, often merely descriptions of access reforms in general or the status quo of systems are given, particularly those with low participation rates or needing access reforms (Weber, 2005). The relationship between participation rates, access policies and the governance of higher education has however not yet been thoroughly examined. The purpose of this qualitative study is to present the results of an analysis carried out to investigate the research question: Is there a relationship between participation rates, access policies and the governance of higher education access in Malawi? The access-policygovernance theory whose proponents are Tapper (2005), Ball (1990), Bunting et al (2005) and Clark (1983), among others, formed the basis for a proposed framework of evaluating the governance of higher education access in Malawi. The data involved in this study are national educational policies and institutional policy. The second data set are interviews with fourteen personnel who are involved in formulation and implementation of higher education access policies and the governance of higher education, both at a national level in Malawi and institutional level at the University of Malawi. A conclusion is drawn that the policies which were utilised and the governance structure created from them generated the limited nature of access which characterises Malawi’s higher education sector. The policies belonging to the University of Malawi, for example, generated proposed growth in student numbers without drastic changes in the general governance structure of the university. Thus the University of Malawi was unable to maintain the growth that the institutional policies intended. This research is of significance to the domain of governance of access as it extends the knowledge base that currently exists in the field of higher education studies. The concept of linking participation rates, access policies and the governance of higher education is relatively under-researched in this field. It is hoped that this study has added to the understanding of this relationship by addressing the significance
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    Examining the incentives for knowledge production : the case of the University of Nairobi in Kenya
    (University of the Western Cape, 2014) Lutomiah, Agnes O.; Wangenge-Ouma, Gerald; Cloete, Nico
    Following the understanding that incentives influence behaviour both in terms of eliciting and sustaining it, this thesis seeks to explore the link between incentives and knowledge production at the University of Nairobi. Given the backdrop, higher education institutions have a key role to play in economic development through knowledge production; the study seeks to see how academics can be steered to produce knowledge. The principal-agent model primarily informs the study, whose primary argument is that for incentives to attract, motivate and retain employees, these incentives have to be sufficient, fair and consistent. Additionally, the model predicts that a higher sum of monetary incentives triggers higher effort, resulting in higher productivity. Using a single case study approach, the study focused on the University of Nairobi in Kenya. The data for the study was mainly provided by the structured interviews, institutional documents and archival. The findings of this study show that there are several incentives related to research at the University of Nairobi. These include: promotion opportunities, time resources, research funding, and financial allowances for publications and successful supervision of postgraduate students. Multiple principals including the government, national research council and the university itself provide these incentives. The general perception of academics is that, the incentives are weak and do not encourage the maximization of the University’s research goals. In addition, academics are also confronted with other principals who reinforce non-research behaviour. These principals offer significant rewards for consultancies, and incentives for teaching on the full-fee-paying stream by providing additional payments, over and above regular salaries, to academics that teach on these programmes. Given the weak nature of the incentives for research, academics at the University of Nairobi seem to respond more favourably to the nonresearch incentives. Overall, the study confirms the economic principle that individuals, in this case, academics, respond to incentives. However, in the context of competing incentives, the research incentives have to be adequate, systematically applied and continuous to reinforce a vibrant research culture.
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    Learning for the future, earning for now : students' experiences of the work-study programme at the University of the Western Cape
    (University of the Western Cape, 2015) Mohlakoana, Refiloe Moratuoa Cynthia; Wangenge-Ouma, Gerald; Luescher-Mamashela, Thierry
    This study does an in-depth exploration of how students experience full-time study and part-time employment, focusing on participants in the work-study programme of the University of the Western Cape. By means of the work-study programme, the university provides on-campus term-work opportunities for students in teaching, research, administration and other support services. In particular this study looks at: the reasons why students partake in the work-study programme and the benefits they gain; the type of work that students do; how demanding the work is; the number of hours they work; and the way this impacts on students' experience of higher education. It further looks at the kinds of challenges students face while participating in the work-study programme and the strategies that they use in order to balance working and studying. Student employment is not a new phenomenon but there is limited knowledge available on the students' experiences of campus employment. According to Metcalf (2003:316), research into part-time work of full-time students is important because of the "potential impact [of term-work] on the nature and effectiveness of higher education and equality of provision of higher education". Existing research shows that students who take part in part-time work are as diverse as the situations that compel them to work and study. It further highlights that students of all genders, ages and class have been observed as taking part in part-time work while pursuing full-time studies. Moreover, there are diverse reasons why students take part in term-work: to pay tuition fees and for their subsistence; to maintain their lifestyle; or to gain work experience. The literature also shows that students experience various challenges because of term-work, mainly due to their multiple time commitments. The effect is that working students may find it difficult to meet academic demands and succeed at the same level as non-working students. As a way of studying student experiences on the UWC work-study programme, this study will use quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection by means of a two-stage methodology. The first stage will involve an electronic survey that will provide baseline data on the students in the programme. This stage lays the ground for the second, qualitative stage of the methodology where the researcher will conduct in-depth interviews with some students involved in the programme. The findings show that students’ reasons for participating in the work-study programme are not necessarily about addressing their financial needs, but also about gaining work experience which puts them a step ahead of their peers. Students from the work-study programme worked varying hours. The number of hours was influenced by students’ classes, and also by the number of hours they were allowed to work, as the work timetable is designed around their academic work. The challenges that students experienced were both positive and negative, depending on their personal situation. Furthermore, the students reported many ways of coping and balancing working, studying and maintaining a social life. In terms of benefits, students indicated that they thought that both the students and the university were benefiting from the work-study programme. After the data was collected, analysed and discussed, a student experience typology in relation to the students on the programme was created. The empirical findings in this study provide a new understanding concerning students who are employed on campus. The study found that students, depending on various variables, were finding ways to manage academic demands, social lives and working part-time on campus. Taken together, the findings suggest an added role for work-study programmes in enhancing students’ university experience As a way of studying student experiences on the UWC work-study programme, this study will use quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection by means of a two-stage methodology. The first stage will involve an electronic survey that will provide baseline data on the students in the programme. This stage lays the ground for the second, qualitative stage of the methodology where the researcher will conduct in-depth interviews with some students involved in the programme. The findings show that students’ reasons for participating in the work-study programme are not necessarily about addressing their financial needs, but also about gaining work experience which puts them a step ahead of their peers. Students from the work-study programme worked varying hours. The number of hours was influenced by students’ classes, and also by the number of hours they were allowed to work, as the work timetable is designed around their academic work. The challenges that students experienced were both positive and negative, depending on their personal situation. Furthermore, the students reported many ways of coping and balancing working, studying and maintaining a social life. In terms of benefits, students indicated that they thought that both the students and the university were benefiting from the work-study programme. After the data was collected, analysed and discussed, a student experience typology in relation to the students on the programme was created. The empirical findings in this study provide a new understanding concerning students who are employed on campus. The study found that students, depending on various variables, were finding ways to manage academic demands, social lives and working part-time on campus. Taken together, the findings suggest an added role for work-study programmes in enhancing students' university experience.
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    Tuition fees and the challenge of making higher education a popular commodity in South Africa
    (Springer Verlag, 2012) Wangenge-Ouma, Gerald
    The funding of higher education in South Africa has in the recent past been a subject of animated debate. This debate has ranged from the adequacy of government funding of higher education, the suitability of the funding framework, to protestations against frequent tuition fee increases. At present, the debate is mainly about “free” higher education. Unlike most African countries, South Africa has an established history of cost sharing. But, for a while now, students, especially Black students, have been demanding tuition free higher education even though the country has a student financial aid scheme to support talented but poor students. The demands for tuition free higher education suggest, among others, the possible existence of financial barriers to higher educational opportunities. This paper is a sequel to the debate on free higher education in South Africa. It seeks, in the main, to understand and examine the rationale and drivers for the students’ demand for “free” higher education. What are the financial barriers to higher educational opportunities that the current funding architecture has failed to address? Secondly, why are students demanding free higher education when there is a scheme to support talented but poor students? Is cost sharing inconsistent with the country’s post-apartheid transformation policy in higher education? Finally, is “free” higher education the panacea to the access and participation challenges facing Black students?
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    Understanding the linkages between community engagement and teaching and research: the case of Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania
    (University of the Western Cape, 2014) Mtawa, Ntimi Nikusuma; Wangenge-Ouma, Gerald; Cloete, Nico
    This thesis sought to understand the various ways in which Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Tanzania, as a teaching and research institution, engages with its communities. This was prompted by the increasing calls upon the universities, both locally and globally, to become relevant to the communities through community engagement. Although the idea of community engagement has emerged and continues to gain momentum in higher education, there have been different understandings and shifts in the ways in which universities are practising community engagement. The study is located within the broader debates in the literature, which sees community engagement as a contested concept in terms of its exact practices and outcomes, particularly in relation to the university’s core activities of teaching, learning and research. With the contextual nature of community engagement, a case study design was deemed to be suitable for this type of study. Data collection instruments comprised of document reviews, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. From the data collected and analysed, there are three key findings in this study. Firstly, community engagement in the Tanzanian higher education system in general has moved from predominantly supporting communities to incorporating some aspects of teaching, learning and research, as well as economic pursuit. This is illustrated in practices such as national service programmes, continuing education, volunteering, field practical attachment, community-based research, commissioned research and consultancy, participatory action research, experiments and technology transfer. Secondly, whereas some of the practices are fading away in some Tanzanian higher education institutions, those that are active at SUA fall within both the Land-Grant (one-way) and Boyer’s (two-way) models of community engagement. Thirdly, there are no deliberate efforts by SUA to institutionalise community engagement as a legitimate activity that enriches teaching, learning and research. As such, there are loose and discontinuous linkages between community engagement and SUA’s teaching, learning and research, attributed to a weak institutional approach to community engagement.