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ENGLISH SUMMARY : Alienation and engagement as framework for characterizing registrars’ perceptions of their learning environment: an exploratory qualitative study. Research into students’ learning experiences in higher education has often focussed on what has been described as surface, deep or strategic approaches to learning. The approaches theory has been critiqued because it does not account for the influence of the learning environment (Webb, 1997). The concepts of alienation and engagement may be used to characterize student learning experiences in postgraduate medical training as they incorporate the influence of the learning environment and socio-cultural characteristics (Mann, 2001). The purpose of the present study was to explore the registrars’ perceptions of their learning environment through the lens of alienation and engagement. An exploratory qualitative study comprising twelve semi-structured interviews was conducted among registrars at the University of Limpopo, Faculty of Health Sciences between June and October 2015. Qualitative methods were used to analyse the results. Different degrees of alienation and/or engagement could be discerned from the registrars’ perception of their educational environment with regard to: the curriculum design and implementation; integration of theoretical and practical teaching; support from the supervisors, the university, and the teaching hospitals; and inter-professional relationships at the hospitals. This research points to a number of suggestions for future practice including that fostering closer relationships between the institutions’ administrative systems and the registrars could enhance engagement and reduce alienation., AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Vervreemding en verbintenis as ’n raamwerk vir die karakterisering van kliniese assistente se persepsie van hul vakgebied: ’n verkennende kwalitatiewe studie. Navorsing met betrekking tot ’n student se leerondervinding in hoër onderwys word hoofsaaklik bepaal deur die oppervlakte-, diepte- of strategiesebenadering van sy/haar studierigting. Die benaderingsteorie het egter kritiek ontlok aangesien dit nie invloed van die leeromgewing asook die sosio-kulturele eienskappe van daardie omgewing in berekening bring nie (Webb, 1997). Die konsep van vervreemding en verbintenis kan eerder gebruik word om ’n student se leerondervinding van nagraadse mediese opleiding te bestudeer aangesien die wel die leeromgewing asook sosio-kulturele omgewing waarin hy/sy hom/haar bevind, insluit (Mann, 2001). Die doel van hierdie studie was om die kliniese assistente se persepsie van vervreemding en verbintenis in hul leergebied waar te neem. ’n Verkennende kwalitatiewe studie bestaande uit twaalf semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude is gevoer met kliniese assistente van die Unversiteit van Limpopo se Gesondheidswetenskappe Fakulteit in die tydperk van Junie tot Oktober 2015. Toepaslike benaderings is gebruik om die kwalitatiewe data te analiseer. Verskillende grade van verbintenis en/of vervreemding kon onderskei word in die kliniese assistente se persepsies van hul vakgebiedomgewing met betrekking tot die leerplanontwikkeling en -toepassing, integrasie van teoretiese- en praktiese onderrig, onderskraging van hul studieleiers, die universiteit en akademiese hospitale asook hulle onderliggende professionele verhoudings by die hospitale. Hierdie navorsing het, onder andere, bewys dat die koestering van verhoudinge tussen instansies se administratiewe bestuurstelsels en die kliniese assistente versterk moet word om vervreemding te verminder.