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The aim of this study is to investigate the scholarly impact of knowledge generated as part of doctoral studies in the field of education in South Africa. The transition rate of the 97 doctoral theses completed in the various fields of education in South Africa in 2008 into peer-reviewed articles and chapters in scholarly books, as well as the citation impact of these theses, were studied. It was found that the transition rates of these theses to journal articles and book chapters were low, as was their citation impact. Eighty three of the 97 theses did not transfer into any kind of publication, 70 out of the 97 made no citation impact, and 65 theses neither transferred to an article/a book chapter, nor did they receive any citation. The low scholarly impact of doctoral research in education in South Africa is related to a number of contextual and field-specific factors, identified in the survey of literature. The main recommendation made is the mapping of fields of education scholarship, making possible the identification of lacuna for research with high impact potential.

The aim of this article is to examine and assess Africa's higher education effort. The theoretical framework employed distinguishes between three dimensions of the higher education project: the quantitative dimension (measured in terms of higher education enrollments and enrollment ratios), the qualitative dimension, and the equality dimension. After the political and economic context of Africa as well as the historical evolution of higher education in Africa are sketched, higher education in Africa is analyzed and evaluated in terms of each of the three dimensions of quantity, quality, and equality. The development of national higher education systems really only began after the advent of independence in 1960, moved painstakingly slowly and even stagnated until the 1990s, when higher education developed an accelerated rate. While enrollment ratios, quality and equality in higher education in Africa lags behind the rest of the world, the growth in enrollments since 1990 is encouraging, and the current economic boom and political pacification of the continent bode well for the evolution of higher education in coming years and decades.

The aim of this article is to present a systematic, holistic evaluation of the South African education system, using international benchmarks as the yardstick. A theoretical model for the evaluation of a national education project is constructed. This consists of three dimensions, namely: a quantitative dimension, a qualitative dimension, and an equality dimension. International databases and the existing international taxonomies of national education systems are then used to evaluate the South African education system, along the three dimensions of the model. It is found that the weakest links are the facts that primary and secondary education enrolment ratios are not followed through to the higher education level; that input, particularly financial input, does not render a commensurate return in terms of the quality of teaching and learning, and learning outcomes; that the administrative component of the system and teacher input appear to be the two weak links in the system in this regard; and that stark inequalities exist in the education system. In conclusion, some recommendations for the improvement of practice and for further research are made.

Some historically black schools manage to do quite well despite their circumstances, such as dire poverty. We aim at explicating some of the causal factors regarding the effectiveness of three schools in deep rural Mpumalanga, South Africa by tapping the perceptions of their learners. Data were collected from learner samples (four girls and four boys from each school, all of them black) by means of semi-structured focus group interviews. The results lead to the conclusion that the perceptions of disadvantaged black learners in this area, with respect to what contributes to their educational effectiveness, may also be understood in terms of hierarchical insights and awarenesses, the ontological basis of which seems to be successful pedagogical dialogue, with mutual acceptance as its fountainhead.

Benchmarking is one way of ensuring academic depth and rigour in teacher education. After making a case for setting benchmarks in teacher education based on the widely recognised intra-education system contextual factors, the importance of also taking into account the external (e.g. the national-social) context in which teacher education occurs is highlighted. A five-step plan is offered for ensuring academic depth and rigour in teacher education through benchmarking. The process is illustrated with examples from the South African situation. The article concludes with an outline of the contextual conditions with which teacher educators in South Africa have to cope.

Since 1994, the eyes of the world have been on South Africa, observing with interest the societal reconstruction project, upon which the country had embarked. In this project, higher education is both the terrain and the perceived instrument of change. In this higher education system and its mission, the academic profession is pivotal--especially, the new up-and-coming generation of academics, who have entered the profession since 1994. Using data from the International Changing Academic Profession Survey of the academic profession, this article focuses on this new generation of South African academics: their teaching; their research and service activities; their biographical details; their international profile; their relations with institutional management; and their job satisfaction. The results of this analysis reveal that while the new generation is present in terms of numbers, they also face three challenges. These pertain to three critical areas, namely research productivity, internationalisation, and the creation of a satisfying work environment, amidst signs of seriously harmful managerialism. The article concludes with recommendations as to how to approach these challenges.

Two pressing demands directed to the South African academy in the post 1994 environment, have been those of gender equity and of increasing research output. The progression of women to the higher academic ranks is a problem, not only in South Africa, but worldwide. In view of the importance attached to research output for purposes of academic promotion, raising the research output of female academics is therefore important beyond the reason of being an end in itself. This paper is a case study at one university of the intersection between these two issues. The aim is to assess the improvement of the research output of female academic members of staff relative to their male counterparts, in the post 1994 period. The data used in the study indicate a steady increase in the research output of female academics relative to their male counterparts. However, a significant gender discrepancy in this regards still remains. In conclusion some suggestions are made with regard to how to an increase in the research output of female academics may be facilitated.

While South African higher education has, in many respects, achieved remarkable achievements since 1994, a series of serious problems continue to beset the system, and a low internal (high attrition rate) and external (alignment with the employment market) efficiency. There also exist the problems of large scale youth unemployment and the policy of dual education and training which is not delivering results. Internationally one unique higher education has evolved these very same problems the Community College. This article traces the international track record of the community college and comes to a positive assessment as to its fit to the South African context.

The aim of this article is to determine to what extent South African higher education and the South African academic profession can hold their own, within the international constellation of higher education systems and academic profession contingents. The article uses the theoretical framework of current changes taking place in higher education worldwide, developed by the international CAP (Changing Academic Profession) survey of the academic profession. It also uses data emanating from the CAP survey. A disturbing picture emerges. Enrolment ratios in South Africa as well as rates of increase in enrolment ratios are lower than that of comparable higher education systems abroad. The distribution of students across various academic fields is lopsided. Scholarly productivity is low and the link between academics and society appears to be weak. The stranglehold of managerialism on South African academics is perceptibly present, and felt stronger than by academics in other countries for which data exist. Public spending on higher education is relatively low, and is receding on a steeper inclination than the international pattern. (Contains 3 tables.)

This article examines notions of quality and quality assurance in higher education. It does this by raising questions such as whether quality in higher education is the same as, for example, quality of clothing or the quality of meat in local butcheries. The article questions the assumption that if certain things, such as criteria or standards--which are measurable and quantifiable--are in place, then quality in higher education will be assured. The article uses the findings of the Changing Academic Project (CAP) to argue that quality and quality assurance in higher education have been permeated by the values and ethos of business and the discourses around efficiency and effectiveness that are driven by global competition. The Hong Kong and Singaporean cases are used as examples of policy borrowing on quality assurance. The article concludes that, given increasing private sector contribution to higher education, it has become necessary for some kind of government intervention to ensure that the higher education provided to citizens is of an acceptable quality. It also argues that quality and quality assurance have shifted from collaborative teaching and research, which promotes critical inquiry and community service, towards input/output considerations and performance measurement. (Contains 7 tables.)

Comparative Education (CE) in Teacher Education (ITE) receives little attention in the literature, and this attention is mainly focused on its decline in Western Countries. This article highlights, however, that it is not declining to the same extent in some countries in Asia, Eastern Europe and in South Africa. The study, upon which the article is based, explores a completely neglected aspect of CE in ITE--the perceptions of student teachers studying CE. The research was conducted among student primary teachers in Ireland and South Africa. Even though some similarities emerge, their perceptions are mainly divergent. It is in the analysis of this divergence, however, that a rich picture of student perceptions emerges. The main findings are: the Irish students knew much less about CE than their South African counterparts, and their main motivation for studying CE was to enable them to work abroad, whereas the South African students wanted to learn about other systems of education in order to improve Education in South Africa. Other findings concerning the extent to which CE is considered to enable student teachers to improve their teaching, are interesting and these are considered in the discussion section. (Contains 4 tables and 1 note.)

This article investigates the relationship between effective organizational culture and student discipline in a boys' boarding house at an urban South African school. Ethnographical methods (observation and interviews) were employed. The study reports on the results pertaining to organizational culture, namely, tangible manifestations of the organizational culture, that is, traditions, ceremonies, symbols, and the external and internal appearance of the boarding house. It also reports on the intangible manifestations, that is, students' and teachers' beliefs and the mission, vision, values, and norms of the boarding house itself. In conclusion, an explanation is tendered for the positive relationship that can be shown to exist between the organizational culture and learner discipline. (Contains 2 notes.)

This article is part of an international research project which is investigating the changing nature of the academic profession in twenty-two countries in the twenty-first century. This article focuses on the discourses of global competition; the permeation of a business ethos and higher education values; the quest for efficiency; diversification and changes in funding frameworks; and the increasing demand for higher education. The article draws from results of surveys made in the academic profession in South Africa in order to examine, firstly, the nature of the academic profession in South Africa and highlights the impacts of the global economy and new managerialism on institutional structures. Secondly, the article explores how these changes have brought about changes in the roles of academics and management in higher education institutions in South Africa. The article examines institutional demands on academics as a response to these changes, the permeation of business values and ethos in higher education institutions, and their implications for the academic profession and individual academics. (Contains 2 tables and 1 note.)

This paper surveys the past, present and future of teacher training in South Africa, in the context of the educational and societal reconstruction of South Africa. Before the twentieth century the bulk of the country's teachers were imported from Europe. In the twentieth century first a teacher-pupil system, then a system of teachers' training colleges and universities was used to train teachers. Towards the end of the previous political dispensation (which ended in 1994) enrolments had swollen, for social and political reasons rather than a rationally predicted demand for teachers, to the point that there was a gross over supply of teachers by 1994. The post-1994 societal and educational reconstruction program necessitated a complete overhaul of teacher training, the details of which are discussed below. Currently an ominous supply-demand imbalance is looming in the near future. This is, by all accounts, a world wide problem, and the paper concludes with suggestions for comparative education research to address this problem.