Journal articles on the topic 'Education, Higher Curricula South Africa Case studies'

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED WITH THE INFORMING SCIENCE INSTITUTE. Aim/Purpose................................................................................................................................................................................................. The main aim of the study is to critically examine the forces that can impede or support students to use e-learning in higher education teaching and learning environment which require not only pre-technological literacy’s but easy access to the e-learning platform and ICT devices. Background................................................................................................................................................................................................. The concept of e-learning has grown considerably in the past three or four decades, which according to Pollock and Cornford, (2003) has prompted a great deal of interest in using and integration of technology into teaching and learning environment thereby transforming the very nature of the traditional higher education system. Murphy et al (2001) have highlighted that not only does the new technologies supplement the conventional course delivery in institutions of higher learning, but they have also become a catalyst for change in higher education. South Africa as a developing nation has adopted the introduction of ICTs in the education system with the hope that it may offer some solutions to the challenges of education in South Africa. The South African Department of Education believes that developments in ICTs and its introduction to the education system creates access to learning opportunities, redresses inequalities, improve the quality of learning and teaching, and deliver lifelong learning (Department of Education, 2004). Even though internet access and ICT devices are becoming more common in South Africa, the use of them for teaching and learning purposes are limited. According to the White Paper on E-education in South Africa (SA, 2004), the Province of Eastern Cape has ranked lowest in terms of number of schools with computers for teaching and learning and as a result many students from Eastern Cape Province who enter higher education do not have adequate technological literacy levels to cope with the demands of higher education teaching and learning environment. Methodology................................................................................................................................................................................................. The design of the study was a case study and it utilized quantitative method. The number of sample units in the study was 65 students from Walter Sisulu University, University of South Africa, Pearson Institute of Higher Education (formerly called CTI) and University of Fort Hare campuses based in East London Eastern Cape Province South Africa. The data were analyzed using MS Excel spreadsheet database for conversion into percentages for the descriptive statistics. Contribution................................................................................................................................................................................................. It is essential to understand the forces that can impede or support e-learning. Possible solutions can be suggested for successfully integrating e-learning into higher education teaching and learning environment to meet 21st century students’ needs. The South Africa case study identified that a number of respondents indicated that the resources are available for e-learning on their university campuses. But these available resources are not efficiently used by most respondents to support their studies. Findings......................................................................................................................................................................................................... The results indicated that in the area of infrastructure required for e-learning, the majority of respondents indicated that the resources are available for e-learning on the campuses of the sampled universities. But these available re-sources are not efficiently utilized by respondents to support their studies. Recommendations for Practitioners............................................................................................................................................................... While universities and other institutions of higher education are encouraging integration of e-learning into the curriculum, it is also imperative that their teaching and learning strategies and policies take into account that some students are unevenly challenged in terms of technological skills and still require additional support. Recommendation for Researchers................................................................................................................................................................ There is the need to explore in depth the aspects that lead to the successful integration of e-learning into conventional lecture method of courses delivery. Impact on Society........................................................................................................................................................................................... With the dawn of 21st century digital and knowledge-based economies evolution where the integration of computers and other ICTs tools in higher education teaching and learning environments have been found to be very beneficial to students, hence not only pre-technological literacy’s of students but easy access to the e-learning platform and ICT devices are critical to higher education learning environment. Assessing students technological skills and access to e-learning platforms to which this study contributes will assist in improving quality education which has a greater impact on society. Future Research............................................................................................................................................................................................... In the context in which this study was conducted further examination of the technological skills of academic staff of the successful integration of e-learning into curriculum would be advisable.

This paper describes a curriculum that gives men and women from predominantly black working class communities a second chance to acquire a formal qualification at a higher education institution in South Africa. The curriculum provides the space for adult students to think critically about themselves and their practice and to develop a confident voice to express themselves. Through this process they develop both learner and educator identities and begin to see how the two intersect. The paper gives some of the historical background of the course, and shows how lecturers who have taught on the programme at different times have helped shape the curriculum. It goes on to discuss the changing nature of the student intake, the curriculum content and structure and ends with a discussion of the impact of the course, on students, staff and on the university as a whole. One very visible impact of the diploma is to be seen in the students who have gone on to acquire other postgraduate qualifications in adult education studies. On a university-wide level, through the involvement of adult education lecturers in other programmes and curricula, knowledge of and interest in adult learning is shared and encouraged.

AbstractThe radiation therapist (RTT) is a practitioner who must learn to take responsibility as an autonomous professional within a collaborative multi-professional team. A case study of international students on fellowship studies to a South African Higher Education Institution was used as the lens to explore the development of professional expertise in RTTs. Documents and semi-structured interviews generated textual data that was semantically analysed. The findings are presented as a discussion of the themes that emerged from the text data; (1) autonomy in a team, (2) collaboration facilitates learning, (3) the need for professional competence, (4) reflective practice and (5) participatory learning. The paper offers the interpretation of professional competence as a practitioner who has applicable knowledge, clinical and generic competence as well as appropriate behaviour and attitudes. It is proposed that a collaborative, integrated curriculum meets the need for the education of RTTs on the African continent. In such an environment optimised learning is facilitated by access to good clinical role models, the development of skills toward reflective practice and student participation in the learning environment.

The Department of Higher Education intends to transform the traditional education theories and practices in the education and training of teachers for the twenty-first century. The attributes of a competent and qualified teacher underpin the envisaged changes in the curriculum to aptly prepare teachers. However, the realizations of the intentions of the department appear to be in vain. Accordingly, the current case studies conducted through qualitative procedures aimed to investigate how teacher educators adhere to the proposals of the Minimum Requirement of Teacher Education Qualifications (MRTEQ). The data gathered through the analysis, of course, guides intended to search for the link between the Life Science curriculum content knowledge and the plan to assess the competences promulgated by the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA). The findings pointed out that the course guide indicated learning outcomes, critical outcomes, and course and module outcomes; however, the assessment criteria were not aligned to the learning outcomes, module outcomes, and assessment techniques or tools. Therefore, the study recommends that academics in teacher education should explore and reflect on the models that could explicitly measure the performance of competencies (foundational, practical, and reflexive) authentically and reliably.

In this paper an analysis is offered of compulsory so-called "live client" clinical legal education as part of the LLB as a means of improving access to justice for the indigent. This study first explores the factors which motivate which the establishment of a year’s compulsory community service during the LLB studies, and making clinical legal education compulsory. The motivation includes inducing law students and graduates to aid in the achievement of access to justice. The research then focuses on what the value of community service is in higher education generally. In the South African civil justice system many ordinary people cannot afford to use the courts because of the expense involved, or because they are ignorant of their rights. This is particularly the case in civil as opposed to criminal matters, as legal aid is more frequently focused on criminal than on civil matters in this country. This paper will consider the role which senior law students may play in rendering pro bono work as part of clinical legal education in their LLB studies. In this regard particular focus will be made on the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), the only university offering law studies in greater Durban. As for pro bono work by students during their LLB, consideration could be given to making clinical legal education a compulsory part of such students' curricula. Possible compulsory community service for law graduates (ie post-LLB) as envisaged in the proposed Legal Practice Bill falls beyond the ambit of this paper.

Introduction This is the tenth issue of the Journal of Construction Business and Management, a combination of the regular issue and a special issue of selected papers from Construction Business and Project Management CBPM 2021 conference proceedings. This issue contains five blind double peer-reviewed articles by seventeen scholars in Nigeria, South Africa, and Malaysia covering strategic management, environmental pollution, compliance with building standards, dispute resolution, and performance management. Despite the difference in the topics, one of the key issues highlighted by the papers is the emphasis on improving education and awareness in the industry to address the issues identified in the papers. Following this introduction is the discussion of the papers, after which the conclusion follows. Discussion of the papers Compliance with construction regulations, standards and codes is fundamental to improving the key performance indicators, by implication, project performance (Umeokafor et al. 2022). Further, this means that it has implications for project risks. While developed countries still record compliance issues which have resulted in tragic events such as the Grenfell fire incident, the developing ones are not left behind, demonstrated to be worse in many indicators. Opawole, Alao, Yusuf, Adu and Ofoetan (2022) examine one of the major issues in building construction in Nigeria, construction materials-related building collapse. Using survey questionnaires, the authors assess the determinants of compliance with concreting materials standards in building projects in Nigeria, using one of the country's major cities, Lagos, as a case study. Being site-based and non-site based, the factors are in six categories, regulation, procurement, capacity, technical, performance and skills components. Production quality control, non-compliance with specified concrete mix, low concrete grade and supervision by incompetent persons are among the site-based factors. However, non-site-based ones include procurement policies and regulatory frameworks in efficiency and professionalism. It was also found that non-compliance with the national standards results in rework, project delays, additional costs, and environmental issues. To improve the quality of buildings through compliance with concreting materials and reduce or eliminate building collapse, the regulatory policies and enforcement mechanism, competencies and training, and ethical standards of stakeholders require more attention. While the generalisation of the findings is limited to Lagos state, given that it is one of the states with a high volume of construction, the study is, at least, indicative of what happens in major cities in Nigeria, such as Abuja and Port-Harcourt. The second paper, by Rambaruth, Adam and Krishna (2022), on strategic management in construction small and medium enterprises (SMEs), addresses another pertinent issue. SMEs outnumber the large enterprises, the heart of the economies of countries. Yet, they face challenges, which in many cases are different from their large counterparts, for example, limited access to funds and competent persons. Many of these SMEs in construction lack strategic planning, one of the factors for early failure (Rambaruth et al., 2022). Many policies, strategies and studies are informed by large enterprises' views and contexts, overlooking the SMEs. Consequently, the authors examine the determinants of a company's decision to adopt a strategic plan, the role of strategic planning in improving a company's performance, and the challenges associated with a strategic plan in place. Using the eThekwini region of South Africa as a case study, the study found that key factors for strategic management in the construction SMEs examined include increased productivity, the quest to gain competitive advantage and improved decision-making. It was good to find that most of them adopted strategic management practices to improve business performance. The authors conclude that one of the ways of improving strategic management in construction SMEs is through improved education and awareness education and broadened skills curriculum by the government. Government and tertiary institutions can also integrate strategic management into SME training programmes. The need for education and awareness, consistent with the recommendations of Opawole et al. (2022), highlights the need for more attention to education and training in the construction and property industry. Graduate architects are the future of tomorrow in the profession; they are yet to pass the professional examination but hold a master's degree in Architecture. The need to exploit education to improve the construction industry's performance is furthered in the third paper by Tiew, Hashim and Zolkafli (2022). Tiew et al. (2022). investigate the major performance barriers that graduate architects encounter in project implementation. These factors are skills-based, poor project documentation management, lack of soft skills, inadequate quality assessment management, and a shortfall in design management. While it highlights the areas the universities can focus on, adequately integrating them into the curricula is consistent with the recommendations of Opawole et al. (2022) and Rambaruth et al. (2022) in this issue. While education empowers the learners with knowledge, the process may have implications for their health and the environment. Addressing educational issues that have consequences for the environment and students' health is the focus of Nkeleme, Mbamali and Shakantu (2022). The authors measured the number of combustion pollutants generated while learning and teaching in laboratories at one of Nigeria's leading universities (Ahmadu Bello University Zaria) and their effect on indoor air quality. Nkeleme et al. found that the presence of CO during the combustion is above ASHRAE 62 and NAAQS limit of 9ppm reaching up to 45ppm at some points and oxygen at the critical level, 20.9 per cent or below 20.4 per cent. The authors also found that the laboratories are congested, and inadequate ventilation systems exacerbate the discomforting effects of combustion-generated pollutants. Adequate ventilation should be provided, which is one of the paper's recommendations. The students learning environment, including the physical ones, is one of the barriers to learning; it should facilitate and support education (Cleveland and Fisher 2014). Undoubtedly, COVID-19 has socio-economic and health implications globally. However, it has increased attention on technology, mental health and some aspects of risk management in construction. Amoo, Lukman and Musa (2022) is the last paper, focussing on dispute resolution methods in construction during COVID-19, where South Africa is used as a case study. The aim is to determine their appropriateness and effectiveness. The findings demonstrate the negative implication of an interest-based approach rather than the right-based approach to resolving disputes in construction. Further, the study shows that negotiation, mediation, and conciliation were adopted to resolve unforeseen delays, claims, and added costs during the pandemic. The pandemic draws attention to pricing methods as a significant source of dispute in the supply and demand chain network during the period. It highlights the imperativeness of clear language in contracts, risk management training, communication improvement, and dynamic project schedule documentation as some conflict and dispute resolution tools post-COVID. Conclusion This issue which contains five papers from seventeen scholars in Nigeria, South Africa, and Malaysia, covers strategic management, environmental pollution, compliance with building standards, dispute resolution, and performance management. While the findings vary, one consistent key finding or implication of this is the need for education and training to improve the construction industry's performance. This is in terms of performance improvement skills of graduate architects, risk management training for those with contract and risk management responsibilities, integrating strategic management education in curricula, and building materials standard compliance training. We thank the authors for their contributions and the reviewers for their efforts to improve the quality of the papers published by the journal. The journal editorial board and panel of reviewers also play a critical part in the higher quality assurance of the manuscript and in keeping the journal on the path to attaining the expected standard and quality. Criticisms, feedback, and suggestions from readers on improving the journal's quality are also welcome. References Amoo, O. T., Lukman, Y. and Musa, N., 2022. Dispute Resolution Mathods adopted by Contractors during Covid-19 in Eastern Cape, South Africa: A Case Study. Journal of Construction Business and Management, 5(2): 54-67. Cleveland, B. and Fisher, K., 2014. The evaluation of physical learning environments: a critical review of the literature. Learning Environ Res, 17:1–28 Nkeleme, E. I., Mbamali, I. and Shakantu, W. M. I., 2022. A Measure of Combustion-Generated Pollutants in University Laboratories and its Effects on Indoor Air Quality. Journal of Construction Business and Management, 5(2): 44-53. Opawole, A., Alao, O. O., Yusuf, A. O., Adu, E. T. and Ofoetan, M. A., 2022. Evaluation of Compliance of Concreting Materials to Standards in Building Projects in Lagos State, Nigeria. Journal of Construction Business and Management, 5(2): 1-19. Rambaruth, A., Adam, J. K. and Krishna, S. B. N., 2022. Elements and Issues to Strategic Management in the Construction Industry Among Small and Medium Enterprises: A Case Study in South Africa’s eThekwini Region. Journal of Construction Business and Management, 5(2): 20-28. Tiew, S. Y., Hashim, H. A. and Zolkafli, U. K. B., 2022. Performance Barriers affecting Graduate Architects in Architectural Firms: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Construction Business and Management, 5(2): 29-43. Umeokafor, N. I., Evangelinos, K. and Windapo, A. O., 2020. Strategies for Improving Complex Construction Health and Safety Regulatory Environments. International Journal of Construction Management.Doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2019.1707853.

In Africa, Science education curricula have been instrumental in promoting Western worldviews as being universal. An educational transformation and decolonisation of the school curriculum is required. A focus on an African worldview and an integration of the local context and community-based information is necessary for survival, i.e., Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS). While IKS is enshrined in the schooling curriculum, Educators experience challenges with implementing it, because the pedagogical strategies have not been clearly described. An in-depth qualitative study was conducted with the Indigenous Knowledge (IK) holders of the Zulu cultural group and Senior High School (SHS) Science teachers to explore how IK on environmental sustainability could be taught in South African science classrooms. The research employed an interpretivist, multi-site ethnographic, qualitative approach, and naturalistic research style. In-depth interviews were used to generate data from the purposively selected community persons. The thematically analysed findings were used to develop a culturally specific pedagogical model on how to teach IK in science classrooms: touring cultural places; demystifying indigenous practices and perception; utilizing indigenous pedagogies; teaching wisdom behind indigenous practices etc. The research recommends that future studies be conducted on applying the model in different geographical and cultural schooling contexts. Keywords: context sensitive curricula, pedagogical strategies, South African curriculum, Western worldview

Students who are hard of hearing (HOH) are being granted access to university increasingly, yet they remain significantly under-represented and under-supported, often resulting in poor academic outcomes with elevated levels of attrition. This situation places a growing obligation on universities to improve the support provided to these students in order to have a positive influence on their overall academic experience and eventual economic independence. This trend is relevant to South Africa, where Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are accepting and registering students with a hearing loss but are not providing adequate academic support and inclusive curricula. Furthermore, in South Africa, almost no research has been conducted concerning students who are HOH in higher education regarding their teaching and learning needs or the coping strategies which they use to survive academically. However, what is known is that, of those HOH students who do enter higher education, many do not graduate successfully (up to 75%) and, of those that do graduate, many continue to be excluded from professions. The aims of this article were to report on the teaching and learning experiences of students who are HOH at a South African university, who prefer to make use of spoken language, to share the daily barriers with which they are faced, and to provide recommendations for teaching and learning, as well as curricula transformation. This study adds to the existing body of knowledge on this topic in South Africa and could be relevant in similar contexts.

Decolonisation of higher education is an important subject which has gained much support in public universities in South Africa. While curricular and other changes are currently being implemented in public universities to align with decolonisation goals, there currently does not exist a decolonisation and transformation strategy for private higher education institutions (PHEIs). The private sector’s role in education is becoming increasingly important, with a higher growth rate than that of the public sector. Despite this, most studies on decolonisation continue to reflect the public sector context. There is little scholarly work, if any, that reflects decolonisation initiatives in the private educational sector. However, private higher education has an important role to play in South Africa, and decolonisation is thus also important in this domain. The purpose of this study is to explore ways to transform curricula at a private higher education institution in South Africa. This article, which is an exploratory study, aims at initiating conversations that support curriculum change and to unpack some of the obstacle’s lecturers face regarding transformation at a private tertiary educational institution.

Purpose This study aims to review the zeal exhibited by universities in South Africa towards aligning institutional mandates of teaching, learning, research and community engagement to the sustainable development (SD) agenda. The implementation of the SD agenda across higher education institutions (HEIs) continues to draw attention from the wider society. This is because HEIs are increasingly being looked up to for leadership in this regard. However, although several studies are quick to identify various factors which have driven the adoption of sustainable practices in HEIs, the paucity of studies seeking to identify the drivers for SD implementation remains glaring. This is particularly so in developing countries like South Africa. Design/methodology/approach To confirm the exploratory data from desktop study on public university engagement with sustainability in South Africa, a single case study was conducted in the Central University of Technology (CUT). The single case study design adopted semi-structured interviews and document reviews as data collection techniques. Purposive snowballing sampling technique was strictly adhered to in the selection of interviewees. Interviewees were selected on the basis of their roles in the implementation of the CUT’s sustainability agenda. Findings Data emanating from these interviews were analysed thematically using qualitative content analysis. Although a plethora of drivers were identified, there appeared to be a consensus between most of the interviewees that the quest for cost reduction remained the most significant driver for the viable implementation of the sustainability agenda at CUT. Research limitations/implications It is expected that findings from this study would provide a platform for the development of effective implementation strategies in South African HEIs. Also, the findings contribute to filing the extant gap observed concerning implementation and drivers for engendering SD implementation in HEIs in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region. Practical implications By highlighting the drivers for SD implementation, this study contributes to the development of a more receptive social ontology among various stakeholders in an HEI towards the agenda, particularly within the SSA context where there is low level of awareness and buy-in by these stakeholders. Originality/value This study makes an original contribution to the research base of SD in HEIs and implementation.

In its fifth report, South Africa’s Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), published on 31 March 2020, called for institutions to carefully investigate undergraduate business education (curricula) after the business, economics, and management studies (in the Classification of Educational Subject Matter (CESM)) category presented the highest dropouts and lowest throughput rates. To understand the academic journey of entrepreneurship students, this study reviewed the literature through the lens of the General Systems Theory (GST), together with Tuckman’s (1999) Tripartite Model of Motivation for Achievement (TMMA). Accordingly, this study viewed the journey of students as a dynamic system with the students having some characteristics and motivations (inputs) when entering higher education, and what the higher education institutions should do (processes) to achieve improved academic performance (output) of students. From the literature reviewed, this study suggests the need to profile students based on their pre-enrolment information and capturing the perceptions of what they think influenced their academic performance in high school. Apart from this, the need to understand the entrepreneurial profile of students has been suggested considering the importance of entrepreneurship in employment creation, especially in South Africa, with an unemployment rate of 32.6%. Thus, it is necessary to produce graduates with the much-needed entrepreneurial capabilities in the South African economy.

The question about what art and craft from Black individuals in South Africa should look like as well as how and for what purposes it could be created was of prominent importance within the contact zone of educational institutions from the 1930s onwards. Art teachers of mostly European origin established provisional art educational venues for African students first, within the curricula of mission schools and then as workshops and art schools in their own right. They transferred modernistic concepts from Europe into the South African context, yet were also confronted with divergent expectations of their students and the overarching policy of Bantu Education that was launched in 1953. A closer look at selected case studies reveals complex and ambivalent theoretical approaches that were negotiated and discussed in the seemingly autonomous context of art schools and workshops. The teachers’ attitudes seemed to oscillate between the search for an ‘authentic’ African idiom and the claim to partake in global archives or in the making of an art history that was imagined as universally applicable. Art educational institutions perceived as transcultural contact zones exemplify a genesis of modern art from South Africa that was formed by mutually influencing perspectives apart from the restrictions for and the re-tribalisation of Black people imposed by the apartheid regime.

Purpose This paper aims to present a new master’s programme for promoting energy access and energy efficiency in Southern Africa. Design/methodology/approach A transdisciplinary approach called “participatory integrated assessment of energy systems” (PARTICIPIA) was used for the development of the curriculum. This approach is based on the two emerging fields of “multi-scale integrated assessment” and “science for governance”, which bring innovative concepts and methods. Findings The application of the PARTICIPIA methodology to three case studies reveals that the proposed transdisciplinary approach could support energy and development policies in the region. The implementation of the PARTICIPIA curriculum in three higher education institutions reveals its ability to respond to the needs of specific contexts and its connection with existing higher education programmes. Practical implications Considering energy issues from a transdisciplinary approach in higher education is absolutely critical because such a holistic view cannot be achieved through engineering curricula. Deliberate and greater efforts should be made to integrate methods from “multi-scale integrated assessment” and “science for governance” in higher education curricula to train a new breed of modern-day energy planners in charge of coming up with solutions that are shared by all relevant stakeholders. Originality/value This paper presents an innovative higher education curriculum in terms of the attention given to energy access and energy efficiency that affect the southern Africa region and the nature of the methodology adopted to face these issues.

Oppression manifests itself in various ways, such that intersections between different forms of oppression can be identified. This is also true for women living in South Africa, a country that has for years been plagued by many forms of oppression (racism, sexism, classism, etc.). Women are, amidst various forms of oppression, often left with few alternative options but to bargain with various forms of gender relations as a means to obtain basic human rights (like education). Recent student protests have highlighted the discriminating ways in which black students are kept from obtaining higher education. The so called “maidens bursary”, awarded to underprivileged girls who vow to stay virgins throughout their studies, will be used as a case study that examines an alternative route to which underprivileged women may resort in order to obtain a quality education. The notion of patriarchal bargaining will then be used to illumine the often unrecognized, complex and interwoven relationship between subordination and agency/resistance that operates within the South African context.

This article shows how and why particular higher education-industry research and development networks articulate with the South African telecommunications sector. The range of competing and complementary data telecommunications technologies available in the South African market provide varying opportunities for enterprises to engage in R&D. Two case studies based in the South African telecommunications industry examine R&D interaction between industry and higher education institutions which have nascent rather than developed R&D capacity and which are dependent on industry initiatives. The analysis suggests that the origin of a particular industry-higher education R&D network is contingent on the growth trajectory of the industrial sector in which it is located and on the maturation of research capacity in the higher education sector with which it is linked.

Human Resources (HR) departments in previously disadvantaged higher education institutions (HEI) in South Africa have contributed to the crisis that has led them to be governed by appointed Administrators assigned by the Ministry of Higher Education and Training. The malfunctioning of HR departments persists even in the post-Administrator’s era, with a prevalence of personal, interpersonal and operational challenges. This study aimed at interrogating challenges faced by the HR Department of the university concerned post the appointed Administrator era and its negative effects. This study adopted a qualitative research approach whereby in-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of 10 HR Department staff members. Focus group discussions were also carried out with 20 academic and non-academic university leaders. Further data was also collected through ethnographic observation and secondary data was also used. The non-probability purposive sampling was used for qualitative analysis and NVivo was used for organizing and analyzing data gleaned from the in-depth interviews. The study findings consistently revealed unclear roles and responsibilities, outmoded recruitment and selection processes and poor interpersonal relations amongst the HR department staff members as some of the challenges that still persist post the Administrator’s era, all of which have contributed to the paralysis of organizational culture. University leaders can use the study findings as a tool to devise and implement radical change management interventions aiming at re-engineering HR departments that are operating abnormally, as well as for designing a responsive HR Strategic Architect. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge in the HR fraternity as there is a dearth of published studies on the internal challenges faces by HR Departments (both interpersonal and operational), which have the potential to hamper smooth operations of higher education institutions.

The South African government has emphasized the need to expand the role of media education to promote equal access, with a level of quality and relevance that will empower disadvantaged groups. However, it is a challenging, time-consuming process, as well as requiring considerable and consistent expenditure and partnerships between many donor agencies. There is little research on the causes behind unequal access to technology, or comparative studies of the barriers that impede the diffusion and adoption of media and information literacy in South Africa. It is thus not surprising that the media and information literacy component is still missing from the agenda that lists Africa’s myriad problems, as well as the absence of qualified teachers, training for the trainers and the presence of IT literacy in the curricula, all of which are essential elements for any future development. The UNESCO model of curricula could help close the digital divide and promote social inclusion. As a contribution to that goal, this study investigates some of the pertinent issues related to media and information literacy via a sample of students at the University of Cape Town. This research offers some practical solutions on how to help raise the levels of media and information literacy among the disadvantaged, in the case in South Africa. El gobierno de Sudáfrica ha realizado recientemente un enorme esfuerzo en la expansión del papel de la educación en medios, con el objeto de ofrecer un acceso equitativo y de calidad a toda la población, especialmente hacia los grupos desfavorecidos. Sin embargo, este proceso requiere tiempo y recursos ingentes y constantes, además de la necesaria colaboración de otras instituciones. Actualmente, existe en Sudáfrica escasa investigación sobre las causas de las desigualdades de acceso a la tecnología o los obstáculos que existen para la difusión y puesta en marcha de la alfabetización mediática en Sudáfrica. No es sorprendente, por ello, que entre los múltiples problemas que existen hoy en África todavía la alfabetización mediática e informacional no sea una prioridad. Siguen existiendo muchos maestros con escasos conocimientos en esta materia, la capacitación de formadores es muy pobre y su incorporación en programas de alfabetización muy anecdótica. El Currículum UNESCO MIL de Alfabetización Mediática es un reto para ayudar a superar esta brecha digital y promover la inclusión social. Con este objetivo, este estudio analiza algunas cuestiones relacionadas con la alfabetización mediática a partir de una muestra de estudiantes de la Universidad de Cape Town, proponiendo algunas soluciones prácticas sobre cómo ayudar a mejorar los niveles de alfabetización mediática e informacional en las sociedades menos favorecidas, como es el caso de Sudáfrica.

Abstract The South Side of Chicago, made up of predominantly Black and Latinx neighborhoods, has higher rates of COVID-19 infection and death rates and lower COVID-19 vaccination rates than other areas of Chicago. People aged 65 and older comprise nearly 15% of the region’s population. The SHARE Network at the University of Chicago has a long history of providing healthy aging education to organizations serving older adults on Chicago’s South Side. Using this pre-existing curricular structure, investigators created a monthly virtual workshop for community members to address COVID-19 related health disparities for older adults. Topics address aging concerns (i.e. dementia, mobility) and pandemic concerns (i.e. health disparities, vaccine hesitancy). At the end of the sessions, participants can ask questions to experts and share resources. Attendance has ranged from 15-20 participants, predominantly formal and informal caregivers. In post-attendance surveys, 80% of respondents identified as Black or African-American. Of the 20 respondents, 95% felt more knowledgeable about the topics discussed and all felt more knowledgeable about local health resources. Three-quarters felt more confident in the caregiving role, and 95% planned to make healthy lifestyle changes to benefit themselves or a loved one (i.e. more exercise, seeking respite care). These results demonstrate the positive impact of a timely community-informed virtual workshop. Providing virtual education on COVID-19 and healthy aging directly to older adult-focused community organizations and their clients is an early step health systems can take to address health disparities.

Public funding for higher education in South Africa is a significant investment. Large amounts of funds are invested in students and there is a national shortage of high quality students in scarce skills - in particular, students with a postgraduate qualification. Students tend to take longer to complete their studies which contributes to the workload of academic staff. Dropouts are affecting the deliverance of these students in a negative way and priceless research from these students is never delivered and published. Not only are fewer students and research being delivered, but large amounts of funding and human capital are wasted on educating students who will never complete their studies. Postgraduate studies have a potential greater loss, and a beta distribution on the dropout can predict the expected and unexpected loss for these students. The latter is an area for concern and needs to be assessed and addressed as soon as possible.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how universities can play a pivotal role in implementing sustainable development goals (SDGs). It recognises the advantage that universities have in responding to social challenges through their functions and operations, mainly through research and innovation and academic prowess. Not much guidance is available on how they can contribute to SDG implementation. The research is a case study of the University of South Africa, a distance education institution. It showcases how its science campus in Johannesburg has incorporated SDGs in its operations. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through interviews with campus operations managers and sustainability office managers, a survey with environmental science honours students was conducted and observations of the Unisa Florida campus environment were undertaken to establish practices that contribute towards SDG implementation. Document analysis assisted in complementing the data collection process. Data were analysed by aligning practices with SDG indicators. Findings The research revealed a number of practices that align with SDGs in teaching, research, community engagement and campus operations management. Unisa is however challenged by financial limitations and as an open distance education and learning (ODeL) institution, it struggles to involve students in these projects. The paper concludes that while the most obvious contribution of universities to SDGs is towards quality education (SDG 4), higher education, including distance education institutions, can play an active role in implementing other SDGs as well. Research limitations/implications This research was limited to one institution, Unisa, owing to time limitations. While this might seem like the research was too selective, it was intentional, as the aim was to research a distance education institution. The research targeted staff involved in campus operations at Unisa’s Florida Campus, which is located in Johannesburg. Interviews were limited to students pursuing BSc Honours in Environmental Management. This was a methodological decision to contain the research, but making sure that the targeted respondents were the most informed. Individual case studies are often critiqued for being insufficiently representative to allow generalisations to other contexts (Jupp, 2006). This applies to this research in terms of “populations and universes” (Yin, 2003, p. 10), but generalisations to “theoretical propositions” (ibid) are possible. Originality/value There are few studies in Africa which researched implementation of SDGs in universities, let alone in ODeL institutions. The research revealed the challenge of involving students in sustainability practices in distance education institutions and serves as a testimony that such institutions can still have successful projects on and off campus. It suggests involving students in applied research based on the current sustainability projects on and off campus.

Incorporating Virtual Reality aesthetics and semantics can contribute towards transforming the education landscape in both the developed and developing world. This can be realized by VR’s capacity to enable the design of more vibrant and dynamic/interactive multimedia applications that are user centric. VR has a positive impact on e-Learning, which is an emerging education model in Africa. This paper uproots the different initiatives, experiences, and challenges that have been met by various endeavors to employ VR as a tool for education, especially in African universities. Using exploratory approaches, two universities in South Africa and Botswana are reviewed as case studies in order to ascertain the status of VR use in higher education in Africa. The paper finds that the potential of VR education is evident in Africa but needs to be unearthed.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a contextual analysis of the professional accounting education system of South Africa (SA).Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses the Global Model of Accounting Education (Watty et al., 2012) to describe the accounting education system of SA, which is then compared with similar case studies of Australia, Japan and Sri Lanka. Information about the SA accounting education system is contextualised from multiple sources, using data triangulation.FindingsSeveral similarities between the SA accounting education system and that of Australia are found, such as the role and involvement of the professional bodies in the accreditation processes, with less similarities with that of Japan and Sri Lanka. The comparisons illuminate the economic development of each country and the level of involvement in the education programmes by the profession. Specific challenges in SA include the entrance hurdles to higher education and emphasis on an accounting degree.Practical implicationsThe application of the Global Model of Accounting Education helps to identify the similarities in the global accounting arena and illuminates the uniqueness of the SA accounting education system. This study illustrates the establishment of an accounting education system that aligns with the International Education Standards (IESs).Originality/valueThe study contributes to the discussions around challenges in accounting education, specifically those associated with accreditation and a strong controlling relationship between academe and the profession.

A statement from the president of the Black Business Council (BBC) that "our education system continues to produce the unemployed graduates" (NewZRoomAfrika, 2021) because "the courses they are doing are not required by industry" reflects the perennial perception that South Africa's education system is a cause of unemployment. In this paper, I explore aspects of this perception through a meta-review of environmental skills-related studies conducted over the past five years. Data used in these studies include graduation trends based on higher education, employer surveys, analyses of skills needs in the workplace compared to courses offered, and case examples of internships and teacher development. Using an ecological-systems model, I relate the findings, in a layered critical realist analysis, to the socio-cultural milieu in South Africa. I challenge the conception of relevant graduate education evident in the BBC's statement.

A well-documented outcome for emerging adults in determining their “success” is whether they are Not in Employment, Education, or Training (NEET) or engaged in Education, Employment, and Training (EET). Being NEET can create psychological, emotional, financial, and health challenges and is a significant risk factor in youth making successful transitions into adulthood. This article describes and compares the NEET and EET status of care leavers from Girls and Boys Town after 1 and 2 years and in relation to other outcomes. The results suggest that while care leavers’ NEET rates are high, they are not significantly higher than those of the South African general population as seen elsewhere in the world. Furthermore, being NEET is associated with more negative care leaving outcomes than being EET; however, this article also highlights the vulnerability of those who are EET. Relationships with family and support networks play a critical role in helping and supporting these youth.

Worldwide, higher education is considered as a driver of economic, social and the political changes driving global knowledge (Ngoma, Ntale & Abaho 2017). Besides the increase access to education, the quality of graduate reflected by their academic performance is worrying (Ridzuan, Yunus, Abdullah, Bakar, Azlan & Ramlan 2018). Paloș, Maricuţoiu and Coste (2019), noticed that a large number of enrolled student graduates with poor grades or fail to graduate. In an attempt to retain and capture market share with the increase in study options, higher education all over the world are constantly struggling to provide a distinctive learning experience necessary to improve their students' performance (McGillicuddy & McGloin 2018). Considering the increasingly competitive and dynamic education environment, higher education can no longer ignore the needs and factors required to enhance student performance. Poor student performance in higher education institution has been a major source of concern for decision makers in the educational sector. Lai (2015), posits that the poor student performance can be attributed to the student-related factors such as attendance classes, score in high school, competence in quantitative subject and preparation to exam or tests. Moreover, Glew, Ramjan, Salas, Raper Creed and Salamonson (2019) state that poor attitude to the subject, lack of innovative teaching techniques, inadequate materials and inadequate funding to support the students negatively impact the performance of student. In addition, most prior research on performance has been done at high school or colleges, rather than at university level (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 2017). While, studies on student performance in developed countries are well documented, little attention has been dedicated in less developed countries such as South Africa (Ngoma et al., 2017). Given the difference between culture in developed and less developed counties, this study focused on investigating the antecedents of student performance in South Africa. Keywords: Student royalty, student satisfaction, student motivation, student performance

Background: Educational institutions are strategic tools in disseminating knowledge on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) since education is an effective developmental tool. All the 17 SDGs are tied in one way or the other to education, that is, the ability of people to learn and apply. This study applies unorthodox theories which include convergence models, neo-functionalism, intergovernmentalism, neorealism and the Hofstede model to explain how educational institutions are an essential enabling environment which accelerates the attainment of SDGs. Methods: These factors are analysed in the context of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Empirically, some university case studies were highlighted in addition to unclear modus operandi, small, fragmented and heterogeneous markets and economies, political stability, deficient political will, and lack of standardisation of products and procedures among other factors. These dynamics affect both the quality of educational institutions and the quality of education thereby directly or indirectly affecting the attainment of the 17 SDGs and are compounded with the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic. Results: The study reveals that acceleration of the 17 SDGs will require a holistic approach as opposed to silos (scientific, economic, political, academic) which usually emerge when pursuing overarching goals of this magnitude. Conclusions: It concludes that accelerating progress towards the attainment of SDGs will not only require dynamic and visionary leadership but also well-functioning institutions which are based on economic feasibility as opposed to political alliances. Priorities should be placed on addressing poverty, inequality and quality education. Moreover, partnerships will be key in achieving sustainability especially given that the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded existing challenges.

Prof. Stephanie Matseleng AllaisStephanie Matseleng Allais is Research Chair of Skills Development and Professor of Education at the Centre for Researching Education and Labour (REAL) at the University of the Witwatersrand. She researches international education and development, focused on education/work relationships. Prof. Suzanne Elizabeth BesterSuzanne Bester is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Pretoria. Her main area of expertise is psychological assessment and intervention with a particular interest in dynamic assessment. She is also interested in well-being. Dr Tafireyi ChambokoTafireyi Chamboko is a Senior Lecturer in agricultural economics with 27 years’ experience in the field of agricultural economics, agricultural marketing and pricing analysis, farm management research, livestock economics and data analysis. He is a recipient of a PhD Fellowship from the Africa Economic Research Consortium (AERC) to pursue a DPhilAG at the University of Zimbabwe. Prof. Doria DanielsDora Daniels has a PhD in International and Intercultural Education from the University of Southern California. Her passion lies in understanding marginalised populations’ experiences with educational access and inclusion. This NRF-rated research focuses on women’s educational empowerment, gender in community history, and adult education and training for active citizenship. Ms Jennifer EsauJennifer Esau holds an MEd in Educational Support from the University of Stellenbosch and a BA (Hons) in Health Care Studies from the University of the Western Cape. She is currently studying towards a PhD in Education at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Her MEd research was on TVET students’ educational experiences of family and community support. Associate Prof. James GarrawayJames Garraway works in the Professional Education Research Institute (PERI) at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. His research focus is on work-integrated learning and the development of the university of technology sector, primarily using Activity Theory and Change Laboratory approaches. He supervises PhD and Master’s students in this field. Prof. Darren LortanDarren Lortan is an Associate Professor and the head of department of Mathematics at the Durban University of Technology. His interests outside of Mathematics include Community Engagement and Articulation in and across the Post-School Education and Training Sector. He is the Project Coordinator of the Unfurling Post-School Education and Training (UPSET) Articulation Project. Dr Lucky MalulekeLucky Maluleke is an emerging researcher and academic in the field of career development and Technical and Vocational Education and Training. He is a lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Nelson Mandela University. His current research interest is in career development and career decision-making, as well as promoting post-school education and training among youth. Dr Muneta Grace Manzeke-KangaraMuneta Grace Manzeke-Kangara is a Soil Scientist in Climate- and Nutrient-Smart Agriculture at Rothamsted Research in the United Kingdom. While working at the University of Zimbabwe, Muneta promoted Integrated Soil Fertility Management and conservation agriculture for soil fertility and grain yield improvement; and agronomic biofortification with micronutrient-supplying fertilisers for improving grain quality in smallholder farming systems. Prof. Simon McGrathSimon McGrath is Professor of Education at the University of Glasgow and a Visiting Professor at Nelson Mandela University. He is co-editor of the Journal of Vocational Education and Training and of the Handbook of Vocational Education and Training. Dr Mary Mmatsatsi MadilengMary Mmatsatsi Madileng is a senior lecturer in the Department of English Studies at the University of South Africa (UNISA). Her key areas of teaching expertise and research interest include Applied Linguistics; Education, Skills Development and Pedagogy in Vocational Education and Training; Work-Integrated Learning; and Vocational Educator Development. Dr Chenjerai MuwanikiChenjerai Muwaniki is a lecturer in Adult and Continuing Education at Great Zimbabwe University. His research interests are in adult education, vocational education, especially green skills in vocational education, learning needs of smallholder farmers and curriculum responsiveness in Agriculture Education and Training in Zimbabwe. Prof. Shervani PillayShervani Pillay is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Nelson Mandela University. She is Head of the Post Graduate Studies Department. Shervani does research in Higher Education Transformation and Decolonisation in Curriculum, Educational Policy, Higher Education and Curriculum Theory. Dr Lesley PowellLesley Powell is the Chair of Youth Unemployment, Employability and Empowerment (CYUEE) at Nelson Mandela University. Her scholarship is largely focused on Vocational Education and Training (VET), with her theoretical interests being the ways in which education and training intervene in poverty and advance the conditions for sustainable livelihoods. She has published widely on VET from human development and social justice perspectives, and more recently also on skills and the informal sector. Prof. Suresh RamsuroopSuresh Ramsuroop is an Associate Professor in Chemical Engineering and the assistant dean in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. He has over 33 years of industrial and academic experience. His current research interests include Computational Chemical Thermodynamics, Process Synthesis, and Design and Engineering Education. Mr Deepak SinghDeepak Singh has an MSc in Physics with research areas including Statistical Physics. He lectures in the Department of Physics at the Durban University of Technology. Dr Tanya SmitTanya Smit is a lecturer of higher education and the Acting Head of the Work Integrated Learning office of the Faculty of Education at the University of Pretoria. Her research interests include pre-service teacher self-regulated professionalism, lecturer and teacher professionalism, action research, mentorship and Technical and Vocational Education. Mr Rodney StopsRodney Stops is a lecturer in the Department of Electrical Power Engineering at the Durban University of Technology. He has over 29 years of lecturing experience and has a passion for Articulation and is using research in Education and Articulation to benefit present and future students. Prof. Volker WedekindProfessor Volker Wedekind is Professor of Education and Head of the School of Education, University of Nottingham. He is the convener of the Nottingham UNESCO-UNEVOC Centre. His research focuses on the policies and practices of vocational education in developing countries.

Universities are often considered to be safe sanctuaries. However, many higher education institutions have increasingly been confronted with crime and unrest. Violence and other crimes on campuses are currently an international concern. This paper reports on a study that investigated student’s perceptions of safety on two campuses namely Lahti University of Applied Sciences in Finland and the North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Theories from Environmental Psychology and Urban Planning are combined in this study in order to incorporate aspects of the individual, social setting and spatial environment. Increasing people’s safety help to optimise their experience of their environment and can in turn create an enabling context for people to flourish and improve their quality of life. The research followed a qualitative research approach. In this study, 21 participants from a Finnish university and 16 participants from a South African university were selected through purposive sampling. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews supported by visual data of the spatial environment. All data were transcribed verbatim and analysed through qualitative content analysis. The literature and findings of the research both support that the spatial and social environment influences safety. It is therefore recommended that safe campus environments require a multi-disciplinary and integrated approach to proactively develop a Comprehensive Safe Environment Plan (CSEP). From a planning perspective, students’ perceptions of campus environments’ safety may include the creation of compact dedicated campus areas, land uses, building placing and orientation, territoriality, landscaping, visibility, control over fear-inducing activities, maintenance, security measures and pedestrian orientated areas.

In the past decade, the World Class University discussion has become rampant due to the integral role that higher education plays in any economy's aspiration to compete globally while still pursuing sustainability. This article reports on a study that explored the roles played by world-class universities (WCUs) in fostering sustainability initiatives and practices in the African context. The article harnesses a document review approach that facilitates in-depth document analysis using two world-class institutions in Africa: The University of Cape Town in South Africa and American University in Cairo in Egypt as case studies. This study finds that world-class institutions in the two countries have rigorous, comprehensive sustainability organisations, synthesised and adopted from international agreements and concepts. The sustainability organisation is characterised by a less hierarchical approach to its management and leadership. Sustainability in research is fostered through environmental research and other key research areas such as food and medicine. Sustainable teaching is fostered through living-learning labs, redesigned curriculums, targeted degree programs and lecturer development through training and awards as incentives. Tangible, sustainable technology and innovation initiatives are also evident. This article comprehensively establishes the links and roles played by WCUs in fostering sustainability. It aids potential WCUs in Africa to understand and adopt sustainable initiatives within different and dynamic institutional contexts.

Higher education in South Africa has focused extensively on widening access to further inclusivity and to economic development. However, as students need to persist and succeed in their studies, access alone is not enough. Furthermore, the responsibility of higher education to help students succeed does not end with graduation; institutions need to produce graduates who are ready to enter the labour market. Therefore, it is important to integrate career information and concepts into these practices when conceptualising holistic academic advising. Since academic advising is still developing as a professional practice in the South African context, no clear, practical framework has been used uniformly at universities. Career advice is also not necessarily integrated into academic advising in a conscious manner. This may result in students who are struggling to integrate all the academic and career information provided to make informed decisions regarding their studies and career paths. This paper argues that the 3-I Process is an appropriate framework for the integration of career and academic advising in the South African context. In this case study, we draw from the experiences of nine advisors from the central advising office, faculties, and the career office at the University of the Free State to understand the extent to which they have been incorporating the elements of the 3-I Process into their existing academic advising practices and how they view the possibilities of following a more integrated approach. We also map how the framework can be adapted to the broader South African context to inform and develop more holistic and professionalised advising practices, as well as to contribute towards students’ success beyond university.

In my last editorial I was contemplating living the new and unexpected experience of life with Covid 19. Six months ago, was a time for contemplation. We were all entering into an event of major historical significance. The world has experienced epidemics before, and we had only to turn to the works of writers such as Camus to realise how recurrent human behaviour is. We tend so often to be caught by surprise despite the lessons that are so readily available to us through reference to history. The Spanish ‘flu epidemic of 1919 was the obvious benchmark to which we could turn. Following hot on the heels of the Great War of 1914-1918 it was responsible for more casualties than occurred in the war to end all wars (50 million). It infected 500 million people worldwide. After just over ten months we are a long, long way from those sorts of figures. As of 12th November, 51,975,458 case of infection have been reported. Deaths attributed to the virus number 1,281,309 worldwide. Of course, what makes Covid 19 so significant is not simply that it should have happened, but that it is the first pandemic in this era of globalisation which we have entered only comparatively recently. Some might remember the SARS epidemic which affected mainly people in Asia. As indicated by its name, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2), it was very similar initially in its effects. Yet, after first emerging in 2002, it was eradicated less than two years later. It seems that this was achieved largely by what has been called simple public health measures. This involved “testing people with symptoms (fever and respiratory problems), isolating and quarantining suspected cases, and restricting travel.” These same measures of course have been implemented in most countries following the virus’ spread to Italy early in 2020. However, the fact that different nations have responded differently and also experienced very different outcomes should be of considerable interest as we consider the whole concept of a global threat and global responses. The ten worst affected countries currently are in order: Contry; Confirmed Cases; Deaths United States; 10,460,302; 244,421 India; 8,684,039; 128,165 Brazil; 5,749,007; 163,406 France; 1,865,538; 42,535 Russia; 1,836,960; 31,593 Spain; 1,417,709; 40,105 Argentina; 1,273,343; 34,531 United Kingdom; 1,256,725; 50,365 Colombia; 1,165,326; 33,312 Italy; 1,028,424; 42,953 They are dominated by the advanced economies of the northern hemisphere. The countries who have previously experienced the SARS epidemic in Asia have fared comparatively lightly. Bearing in mind that statistics of this nature may not be strictly comparable given variation in the criteria used and the methods of sourcing and collecting this information, it is still interesting to hypothesise why outcomes can differ so much. Explanations might include reference to the environments in which people live – physical space, climate and availability of sophisticated health care systems to name a few – or they might dwell on the culture of those involved, their willingness to follow instructions imposed upon them, the importance of competing objectives that might make prioritising health and physical wellness less of a priority. Whatever the case, satisfactory explanations are more likely to involve some interactions involving measures of both the individuals and the environments within which they live. Any attempt to explain or understand human behaviour needs to consider a variety of factors and knowing how to take account of them is an important part of the skill base that scholars of international and comparative studies bring with them. Such skills and knowledge are more important in a globalised world than they have ever been. Yet such skills may be becoming harder to achieve, precisely because of some of the effects of processes associated with globalisation. I would recommend to you a recent documentary produced by Netflix and widely available on YouTube. “The Social Dilemma” is an examination of the use of social media and in particular focuses on the relationship between the growing addiction amongst young people to the use of smartphones and, specifically their social media programmes, and the rising levels of concern about deteriorating mental health and wellbeing among the world’s youth. It draws a relationship between the psychological disorder of narcissism and the failure of phone obsessed young people to experience real human to human interaction, with a related increase in aggressive bullying and dysfunctional behaviour. Thus, the results of experiencing interactions and personal validation through the proxy world of social media, rather than face to face, is a dehumanisation of the individual and leads to a distorted experience of the world in simple dichotomies of a single view, right or wrong. So, whatever the continuing effects of the pandemic, as these continue to unfold, it will be important that we continue to build our understanding of other people in their own worlds. We need to avoid the trap of believing that our own world is the only world and the right world. However smart artificial intelligence becomes, a screen is only two dimensional and it is the extra dimensions that enable us to grow as humans and cope with the complexity and challenges of our own unique worlds. One of the less helpful trends of our globalised digitised world, has been the pursuit and glorification of the cult of celebrity. One of the difficulties of that celebrity status is it is frequently awarded on the basis of undeserving and irrelevant characteristics such as, acting ability, physical beauty or sporting reputation. Yet many seem to feel that this status entitles them to pontificate or attempt to influence others in areas that have nothing to do with their expertise. Ricky Gervais, in his chairing of the 2020 golden globes award, brought a refreshing dose of reality in advising the celebrities who were to receive awards: You are in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. So, if you win, come up accept your little award. Thank your agent and your God and **** off. OK? It is in that spirit of willingness to learn from the work of a range of colleagues working in a range of places and professional situations around the world, I commend to you the contributions to be found in the following pages. To start the ball rolling, we have a report from Hairui Liu, Wei Shen and Peter Hastie on the application of a curriculum model which was developed in the US and has since gained some popularity in a number of settings around the world. The origins of sport education came from a realisation that, in too many situations, physical education had failed to excite the same degree of enthusiasm among school pupils as could often be observed when they involved themselves in sport. The model thus extends the skill/technique focus which is found in many traditional physical education settings, to include more of the dimensions of sport – formal competition, affiliation, festivity experienced over a season. They concluded that, within this Chinese university context, the students achieved a higher level of performance and more enthusiastic engagement when the model was adopted as a basis for their learning. Our second article moves from an education setting to a contemporary sport science framework, the world of professional sport and one of the higher levels of competition in the world – the English Championship. Rhys Carr, Rich Mullen and Morgan Williams monitored the running intensity of players throughout a season. In particular they questioned the demands for high intensity running when playing in a 4-4-2 formation and implementing a high press strategy, such as adopted by Liverpool in their highly successful 2019 English Premiership season. They concluded that, for players in the centre forward and wide midfield positions, the demands created were impossible to maintain for an entire match. They were then able to draw out some practical and tactical implications for managers and their support staff, relating to substitution strategy and the physical match preparation of players in these positions and with these strategic responsibilities. Our third article involves an exploration of the perpetual discomfort many of us feel as educators when we compare the practice of sport against the ideals we hold for it. As professionals in the field, many of us are driven by our belief in what sport can offer. Yet the modern commodification of sport, coupled with the excessive need to win as a motive that exceeds all others, consistently produces behaviours and outcomes which we seek to disassociate from our professional practices. The article by Irantzu Ibanez, Ana Zuazagoitia, Ibon Echeazarra, Luis Maria Zulaika and Iker Ros is set in the context of the Basque region of Spain and explores the values held by students in their pre-service training with regard to the practice of extracurricular sport. The students show an awareness of the mismatch between their ideals of extracurricular sport as an educational experience and the influence on current practices that comes from the way in which sport is conducted in the society at large. The authors conclude with a plea for greater alignment between the practice of sport in schools and teh educational values that should guide it. Our final contribution is from South Africa where Lesego Phetlhe, Heather Morris- Eyton and Alliance Kubayi report on the concerns of football (soccer) coaches in Guateng province. It is clear that these coaches, in common with others around the world, suffer a degree of stress in their chosen occupation. The sources of this stress are to be found in the nature of the complex tasks they are expected to manage, as well as in the always challenging job of managing the players for whom they are responsible. To this can be added the difficult environmental conditions they are faced with, as well as the inevitable concern with having to produce results for the players and their team. Their research has produced some useful guidelines for administrators that can facilitate the jobs of the coaches and lead to benefits in enhanced performances and results. Finally, in our book review, Luiz Uehara evaluates Jorge Knijnik’s thoughtful analysis of the impact of the 2014 world cup on Brazil. From both author and reviewer, it is possible to feel the pride and passion in their nation of birth and its special contribution to the world’s most popular game. It is my privilege to recommend the work of these international scholars to you. I leave you the reader with the hope that in introducing our next volume, I will be able to celebrate with you more positive news about the progress of the pandemic and its implications for international and comparative sport and physical education. John Saunders Brisbane, November 2020

Background: The primary purpose of introducing the COVID-19 vaccine was to fight the pandemic. However, the vaccine was not well received worldwide. This challenge has threatened the effective implementation and roll-out of COVID-19 immunization campaigns. The challenge of vaccine hesitancy was reported to be more prevalent in rural areas due to various factors such as cultural beliefs, misinformation, poverty, lack of education, and distrust of vaccines. Yet there seems to be a scarcity of studies determining the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy in deep rural areas of Limpopo. Purpose: The study aimed to explore the prevalence of COVID-19 hesitancy among the rural black population in South Africa. Study Methods: A longitudinal quantitative study was conducted with data from the DIMAMO Health and Demographic Surveillance Site (HDSS) database for 2020 to 2022. A non-probability total sampling technique was used to select the respondents. Trained fieldworkers collected data using an electronic data capture questionnaire. A comparison of categorical variables was performed using Chi-Square in SPSS version 26 and the statistical significance was set at p < 0.05, with a 95% confidence interval to analyze the data. Results: The limited availability of vaccination sites in Limpopo Province, South Africa, was associated with a reduced certainty that the vaccine would be accepted, as reported in the current study. The prevalence of visiting traditional healers was significantly higher in non-vaccinated than vaccinated participants among the rural black population, indicating a different cultural belief among the rural black population that existed before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: The present study findings show diverse factors of concern associated with vaccination hesitancy for COVID-19 among rural black people. Lack of education, gender, not being diagnosed with COVID-19, not being a Christian, visiting traditional healers, vaccine mistrust, unknown side effects, and a lack of confidence in the vaccine itself. Conspiracy theories were factors that impacted vaccine acceptance among black people living in rural areas. The prevalence of visiting traditional healers was significantly higher in non-vaccinated than vaccinated participants. Therefore, the present study findings emphasize the need to collectively integrate and utilize the traditional healers in the South African healthcare system.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) are making an impact in institutions of higher education. Studies have revealed that though few students and staff have been recorded to be suffering from HIV/AIDS, more have become ill and some have died in ways that signal the impact of HIV/AIDS. Universities can contribute to addressing the needs and expectations of staff and students living with HIV and AIDS. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the preparedness of a South African rural-based university in addressing the needs and expectations of staff and students living with HIV and AIDS. A qualitative study design was followed, with one South African rural-based university as the case setting. Qualitative interviews were conducted stemming from the central research question, “How is the university addressing the needs and expectations of staff and students living with HIV and AIDS?” Following an open coding method of data analysis, three themes emerged relating to how the needs and expectations of staff and students living with HIV and AIDS are addressed: persistence stigma and discrimination, limited assurance to confidentiality and, inadequate treatment, care and support. Recommendations were made for improvement of service delivery to address the needs and expectations of staff and students living with HIV and AIDS and further research should be conducted on large scale to determine other needs and expectations of SSLWHA other South African rural-based universities and how they are addressed.

The paper introduces the UK Open Textbook project and discusses its success factors with regards to promoting open practice and open pedagogy. Textbooks remain a core part of educational provision in science. Open Textbooks are openly licensed academic textbooks, wherein the digital version is available freely, and the print version at reduced cost. They are a form of Open Educational Resource (OER). In recent years a number of openly-licensed textbooks have demonstrated high impact in countries including the USA, Canada and South Africa. The UK Open Textbooks project piloted several established approaches to the use and promotion open textbooks (focusing on STEM subjects) in a UK context between 2017 and 2018. The project had two main aims: to promote the adoption of open textbooks in the UK; and to investigate the transferability of the successful models of adoption that have emerged in North America. Through a number of workshops at a range of higher education institutions and targeted promotion at specific education conferences, the project successfully raised the profile of open textbooks within the UK. Several case studies report existing examples of open textbook use in UK science were recorded. There was considerable interest and appetite for open textbooks amongst UK academics. This was partly related to cost savings for students, but more significant factors were the freedom to adapt and develop textbooks and OER. This is consistent with a range of research that has taken place in other countries and suggests the potential for impact on UK science education is high.

Curriculum material is generally considered the subject matter of information, talents, dispositions, understandings, and principles that make up research programs in the field. At a more complex level, the curricula need to contain historical and socio-political strengths, traditions, cultural views, and goals with wide differences in sovereignty, adaptation, and local understanding that encompass a diversity of cultures, laws, metaphysics, and political discourse This study aims to develop a curriculum with local content as a new approach in early childhood science learning. The Local Content Curriculum (LCC) is compiled and developed to preserve the uniqueness of local culture, natural environment, and community crafts for early childhood teachers so that they can introduce local content to early childhood. Research and model development combines the design of the Dick-Carey and Dabbagh models with qualitative and quantitative descriptive analysis. 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Purpose The purpose of this paper is first to determine the competencies required of risk managers and second to consider the implications of such competencies in determining modules for inclusion in the curriculum framework of an undergraduate qualification in risk management. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach was followed, involving risk management professionals in a focus group and making use of interactive qualitative analysis (IQA). Findings The competencies identified are managerial and risk management knowledge, attributes such as assertiveness and steadfastness and ethical values, as well as people and technical skills. These are explained in greater detail in this paper. Research limitations/implications The unique contribution of the current research was the innovative use of IQA for data collection, the removal of subjectivity and the rigour in analysing and presenting the results. The results provide a starting point for designing a curriculum that will both meet the requirements of the professional body and will equip graduates with the best possible combination of knowledge, attributes, values and skills needed by the risk management profession. The implications for further research include that a comparative IQA study of the competencies of risk managers using academics from the field could be undertaken, as well as a study of the design, benchmarking and validation of a proposed curriculum for an undergraduate degree in risk management. The purpose of this study was not to compile a curriculum for a new BCom (risk management). However, this was beyond the scope of the current study. IQA uses rigour and eliminates the bias of the researcher, and the one limitation of this research lies in the use of a focus group, which resulted in the findings not being generalizable as the case would have been with a representative sample used in the positivist paradigm and using appropriate statistical analysis. However, this study was exploratory and could serve as a valuable starting point for further research in this area to perform a comprehensive curriculum development. Practical implications This study found that constituents of the focus group perceived that the following competencies are required of risk managers, namely, knowledge, skills, attributes and values. These competencies correspond closely with the competencies indicated in the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) Professional Core Competency Model, except that RIMS subdivides knowledge into three categories, namely, business, organisational and risk management knowledge. Similarly, RIMS distinguishes between management skills and technical skills. The attributes identified by the focus group of this study were similar to those identified by RIMS. However, the focus group emphasised values such as integrity, ethical conduct, respect and accountability. However, unlike RIMS, these were not perceived as one of the five core competencies, but rather as a stand-alone competency in its own right, which risk managers need to be successful. RIMS could consider reviewing its core competencies by allocating three closely related aspects, namely communication, collaboration and consultation to technical skills. Core competencies may be replaced by core values, which are literally at the centre of all the competencies required. Such core values are enhanced by the RIMS Code of Ethics (2019) and significantly contribute to the professionalization of risk management. RIMS could also consider providing guidelines to universities for those competencies that could be taught or learnt, to be included in their curricula and to accredit universities who meet such requirements. Social implications The findings of this study also serve as a starting point for the reintroduction of a BCom (risk management) degree by Unisa. Despite the requirements of the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and the Council for Higher Education (CHE), this study demonstrated that a specialised degree in risk management needs to be offered to meet the need expressed by IRMSA for professional risk managers in Southern Africa, and such a degree should ideally be curriculated based on the competencies identified in this article. The implication for public policy is that SAQA and the CHE need to reconsider their rigid stance about the composition of specialised qualifications, and rather set a range of 33-50% for subjects from the field of specialisation that must be included in the curricula of specialised degrees. As indicated by this research, a combination of subjects from different disciplines is required to enhance the competencies and employability of risk management graduates. Originality/value The use of IQA is a novel way of ensuring rigour and objectivity in arriving at the required knowledge, attributes, values and skills of risk managers, and aids in the compilation of a new curriculum for an undergraduate qualification in risk management, thus ensuring the qualification will provide a competency-based qualification that will meet the needs of the profession.

ABSTRACT Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L) commonly known as ragi is an important crop used for food, forage and industrial products. Finger millet has a wide ecological and geographical adaptability and resilience to various agro-climatic adversities hence, it is highly suited to drought condition and marginal land and requires low external input in cultivation.. Farmers participatory field demonstrations of ragi variety Arjun and Bhairabi were conducted at two villages ie Pedawada of Malkangiri block and MPV -1 of Kalimela block of Malkangiri district, comprising 40 farmers in cluster approach in Kharif 2018 and 2019 , by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Malkangiri , in South Eastern Ghat Zone of Odisha . Conducting front line demonstrations on farmer’s field help to identify the constraints and potential of the finger millet in the specific area as well as it helps in improving the economic and social status of the farmers. Observation on growth and yield parameters were taken and economic analysis was done. The final seed yield was recorded at the time of harvest and the gross return in (Rs ha -1) was calculated based on prevailing market prices. The results from the demonstration conclusively proved that finger millet variety Arjun (OEB-526) recorded the higher yield ( 18.8 q ha-1) , followed by Bhairabi ( 15.3 q ha-1) and farmer’s traditional variety Nali Mandia ( Dasaraberi) recorded an average yield of (8.6 q ha-1 ) . HYV Finger millet variety Arjun with proper nutrient management and plant protection measures gave 118 % higher over farmer’s practices. The technological and extension gap was 1.9 q ha-1 and 12.07 q ha-1 respectively. Similarly, technological index was 8.2 percent. The benefit cost ratio was 2.4 and 1.9 in case of Arjun and Bhairabi respectively and in case of farmer’s variety Nali Mandia it was 1.4. Hence the existing local finger millet variety can be replaced by HYV Arjun ans Bhairabi , since it fits good to the existing rainfed farming situation for higher productivity. By conducting front line demonstrations on millet on large scale in farmer’s field, yield potential of finger millet can be enhanced largely which will increase in the income level of farmers and improve the livelihood condition of the farming community. Introduction Among small millets, finger millet (Elusine coracana L,) locally known as Ragi/Mandia is the most important crop grown in tribal districts of Odisha and it is the staple food of the tribals. It was originated about 5000 years ago in east Africa (possibly Ethiopia) and was introduced into India, 3000 years ago (Upadhyaya et al., 2006) and it is highly suited to drought condition and marginal land and requires low external input in cultivation. Millet is a collective term referring to a number of small seeded annual grasses that are cultivated as grain crops, primarily on marginal lands in dry areas in temperate, subtropical and tropical regions (Baker, 1996). Nutritionally finger millet is superior to major cereal crops and rich source of micronutrients such as calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and iron. And it has several health benefits. Finger millet grains contain higher amount of proteins, oils and minerals than the grains of rice, maize or sorghum (Reed et al., 1976). Vadivoo and Joseph (1998) mentioned finger millet grains contain 13.24% moisture, 7.6% protein, 74.36% carbohydrate, 74.36% carbon, 1.52% dietary fiber, 2.35% minerals, 1.35% fat and energy 341.6 cal/100g. (Joshi and Katoch, 1990; Ravindran, 1991). It is a rich source of micronutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and iron. Cysteine, tyrosine, tryptophan and methionine are the right spectrum of amino acids found in finger millet protein (Rachie, 1975). The increase in global temperature leads to climate changes that directly affect crop production and increase people's hunger and malnutrition around the world.. With regard to protein (6-8%) and fat (1-2%) it is comparable to rice and with respect to mineral and micronutrient contents it is superior to rice and wheat (Babu et al., 1987). It is also known for several health benefits such as anti-diabetic, anti-tumerogenic, atherosclerogenic effects, antioxidant, which are mainly attributed due to its polyphenol and dietary fiber contents. Being indigenous minor millet it is used in the preparation of various foods both in natural and malted forms. Grains of this millet are converted into flours for preparation of products like porridge, puddings, pancakes, biscuits, roti, bread, noodles, and other snacks. Besides this, it is also used as a nourishing food for infants when malted and is regarded as wholesome food for diabetic's patients. Diversification of food production must be encouraged both at national and household level in tandem with increasing yields. Growing of traditional food crops suitable for the area is one of the possible potential successful approaches for improving household food security. Malkangiri is one of the seven districts where a flagship programme called “Special Programme for Promotion of Millets in Tribal Areas of Odisha (hereafter, Odisha Millets Mission, (OMM)” has been launched by Department of Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment, Odisha in order to revive millets in rainfed farming systems and household consumption. It was started in kharif 2017 in four blocks of the district, namely Chitrakonda, Korkunda, Mathili and Khairiput. The Government of Odisha launched Odisha Millets Mission (OMM) also known as the Special Programme for Promotion of Millets in Tribal Areas of Odisha in 2017 to revive millets in farms and on plates. The aim was to tackle malnutrition by introducing millets in the public distribution system (PDS) and other state nutrition schemes. The focus is on reviving millets in farms and putting it on plates.” Millet, a nutritious and climate-resilient crop, has traditionally been cultivated and consumed by tribal communities in the rainfed regions of southern Odisha. Technology gap, i.e. poor knowledge about newly released crop production and protection technologies and their management practices in the farmers’ fields is a major constraint in Ragi production. So far, no systematic approach was implemented to study the technological gap existing in various components of Ragi cultivation. Awareness of scientific production technology like HYV of ragi, seed treatment with fungicide, use of insecticide and bio-fertilizers, is lacking in Malkangiri district which were a key reason for low productivity. The production potential could be increased by adopting recommended scientific and sustainable management production practices with improved high yielding varieties and timely use of other critical inputs. Objective The field experiment was undertaken to study the performance of three finger millet varieties Local Mandia (Nali Mandia), Bhairabi and Arjun in rainfed upland situation in kharif season. The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the field performance of newly released finger millet varieties Arjun and Bhairabi under rainfed condition. The demonstrations were carried out in Malkangiri district covering two villages like Pedawada and MPV-6 to find out the existing technological and extension gap along with technology index with an objective to popularize the ragi varieties having higher yield potential. Material and methods The study was carried out in operational area of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Malkangiri during Kharif season in the year 2018 and 2019. The study was under taken in Malkangiri and Kalimela blocks of Malkangiri district of Odisha and the blocks were selected purposefully as Finger millet is the major cereals crop grown in large area in Kharif season. The demonstrations were conducted in two different adopted villages Pedawada and MPV-6 in cluster approach. The Front Line Demonstration (FLD) is an applied approach to accelerate the dissemination of proven technologies at farmer’s fields in a participatory mode with an objective to explore the maximum available resources of crop production and also to bridge the productivity gaps by enhancing the production in national basket.The necessary steps for selection of site and farmers and layout of demonstrations etc were followed as suggested by Choudhary (1999). Forty numbers front line demonstrations on HYV Ragi were conducted in two clusters comprising 40 numbers of farmers. All the participating farmers were trained on various aspects of Ragi production technologies and recommended agronomic practices and certified seeds of Ragi variety Arjun and Bhairabi were used for demonstration. The soil of demonstration site was slightly acidic in reaction (pH-5.0 to 5.25) with sandy loam in texture and EC was 0.134 (dS m −1). The available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium was between 214 .00, 22 .00, 142 .00 (Kg ha−1) respectively with 0.48 (%) Organic Carbon. The crop was sown in under rainfed condition in the first to second week of July. The crop was raised with recommended agronomic practices and harvested within 4th week of November up to 2nd week of December. Krishi Vigyan Kendra ( KVK), Malkangiri conducted front line demonstration with HYV varieties like Bhiarabi and Arjun and farmer’ local var Dasaraberi as check Finger millet Variety Arjun (OEB-526) is having Maturity duration 110 days and average yield 20.7q/ha with moderate resistance to leaf, neck and finger blast and brown seed and Bhairabi is a HYV of Ragi with Maturity duration 110 days and average yield 17.6 q/ha. Moderate resistance to leaf, neck blast and brown seeded and protein content 81%. Local variety Dsaraberi or Nali Mandia is having 105 days duration and drought tolerant variety used as farmers variety as local check . The technologies demonstrated were as follows: Popularization of high yielding Ragi variety, Seed treatment with Trichoderma viride @ 4g kg-1 seed , Line sowing with, soil test based fertilizer application along with need based plant protection measures. The field was ploughed two times and planking was done after each plugging, Need based plant protection measures were taken; along with soil test based fertilizer application was done with fertilizer dose 40:30:60 kg. N: P2O5: K2O kg ha -1. In case of local checks existing practices being used by farmers were followed. The observations were recorded for various parameters of the crop. The farmers’ practices were maintained in case of local checks. The field observations were taken from demonstration plot and farmer’s plot as well. Parameters like Plant height, number of fingers per plant, length of finger , no of fingers per year, 1000 seed weight and seed yield were recorded at maturity stage and the gross returns (Rs ha -1 ) were calculated on the basis of prevailing market price of the produce. The extension gap, technology gap, technology index along with B: C ratio was calculated and the data were statistically analyzed applying the statistical techniques. Statistical tools such as percentage, mean score, Standard deviation, co-efficient of variation, Fisher‘s “F” test, were employed for analysis of data. The farmer’s practices (FP) plots were maintained as local check for comparison study. The data obtained from intervention practices (IP) and famers practices (FP) were analyzed for extension gap, technological gap, technological index and benefit cost ratio study as per (Samui et al., 2000) as given below. Technology gap = Pi (Potential yield) - Di (Demonstration yield) Extension gap = Di (Demonstration Yield) - Fi (Farmers yield) Technology index = X 100 Result and Discussion The results obtained from the present investigation are summarized below. The Table 1 depicts the major differences observed between demonstration package and farmer’s practices in ragi production in the study area. The major differences were observed between demonstration package and farmer’s practices were regarding recommended varieties, seed treatment, soil test based fertilizer application, keeping optimum plant population by thinning, weed management and plant protection measures. The data of Table 1 shows that under the demonstrated plot only recommended high yielding variety, proper weeding and optimum plant population maintaining by thinning and the farmers used herbicides and the farmers timely performed all the other package and practices. It was also observed that farmers were unaware about balanced fertilizer application, seed treatment, and use of fertilizers application and maintenance of plant population for enhancing the yield. Majority of the farmers in the study area were unaware about use of weed management practices. The findings are in corroborated with the findings of (Katar et al., 2011) From the Table 2 it was revealed that in the district Malkangiri the productivity of finger millet was 6.38 (q ha-1) as compare to state average productivity 8.67 (q ha-1), but there exists a gap between potential yield and farmers yield, which can be minimized by adoption High yielding varieties with improved management practices. The productivity of finger millet was very low in the district as the crop is mostly grown along the hillsides on sloppy land on light textured soil. It was also coupled with negligence in adoption of improved varieties no input like fertilizers use and no plant protection measures and improper method and time of sowing. However, there is a wide gap between the Potential and the actual production realized by the farmers due to partial adoption of recommended package of practices by the growers. Several constraints contributed to yield fluctuation on Ragi production, including: unreliable rainfall; lack of high yielding variety ,disease tolerant varieties; pests and diseases incidence; low producer prices; poor agronomic practices; and lack of institutional support (Bucheyeki et al., 2008; Okoko et al., 1998). One of the central problems of ragi production and processing in this district is due to an uncertain production environment owing to rain fed cultivation, the low resource base of smallholder farmers and processors, and no scope for post harvest management and value addition facilities and poor marketing facility. The results clearly indicated from the Table 3 that the positive effects of FLDs over the existing practices. HYV Ragi Arjun recorded higher yield 18.8(q ha-1) followed by Bhairabi 15.53 (q ha-1) which was 21 % more and the yield performance of these two HYV varieties was higher than the farmer’s variety. This is due to higher of panicle length, more number of tillers and more number of fingers per panicle in HYV of ragi as compared to local variety. The results are in conformity with the findings of (Tomar et al. , 2003). The results clearly indicated the positive effects of FLDs over the existing practices towards enhancing the productivity. It is revealed form table 4 that, as the calculated ‘F’ value at α=0.05 level was found to be larger than table value, indicating significant difference in yield between farmer’s variety and recommended varieties. There was significant difference between average yield of ragi under Farmers practice (FP) and Recommended practice (RP) in variety Arjun under this demonstration. It was concluded that the yield of these HYV ragi varieties was significantly higher as compared to farmer’s variety. The economics and B:C ratio of farmers practice and Demonstration practice has been presented in Table 6. From the table it was revealed that Benefit: Cost ratio (B:C) was recorded to be higher under demonstrations against control treatments during all the years of experimentation. The cost of cultivation in HYV variety was higher due to more labour cost involved in transplanting and also it included cost of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals and also net returns was higher as compared to farmer’s practice. The B: C ratio was found to be 2.4 in case of variety Arjun as compared to 1.9 in case of variety Bhairabi. The results on economic analysis indicated that HYV ragi Arjun and Bhairabi performed better than local variety Ragi. The HYV variety Arjun recorded higher gross return upto Rs 54,332 and followed by Bhairabi Rs 44,289 per ha which was significantly higher than farmers practice and it was due to higher productivity of varieties under demonstration. Conclusion The results revealed that in Malkangiri district finger millet variety Arjun rerecorded highest yield followed by Variety Bhirabi with proper package and practices under rainfed upland condition. From the above study it was concluded that use of finger millet varieties like Arjun or Bhairabi with scientific methods and technological practices of can reduce the technological gap and enhance the productivity in the district. Yield improvement in Finger Millet in the demonstration was due to use of HYV seed and scientific management practices adopted by the farmers. Yield of Finger Millet can be increased to a great extent by conducting effective front line demonstrations in larger area with proven technologies. Finger millet is one of future smart food crop of India and can be grown in the drought condition. This crop is rich in nutrient for food insecurity and within few years because of increase in population of world and depletion of area of production.. The principal reasons of lower productivity of finger millet in the district Malkangiri were lack of knowledge among the farmers about cultivation of HYV finger millet varieties and improper fertilization, late season sowing and severe weed infestation in crop at critical stages. From the above findings, it can be concluded that use of scientific methods of Finger millet cultivation can reduce the technology gap to a considerable extent thus leading to increased productivity of millets in the district. Moreover, extension agencies in the district need to provide proper technical support to the farmers through different educational and extension methods to reduce the extension gap for better production. Acknowledgments The OUAT Bhubaneswar and ICAR-ATRI Kolkata, is acknowledged for financial support to the research program. Conflicts of interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. References: Babu, B. V.; Ramana, T.; Radhakrishna, T.M. Chemical composition and protein in hybrid varieties of finger millet. Indian J. Agric. Sci. 1987, 57(7), 520-522. Biplab, M.; Samajdar, T. Yield gap analysis of rapeseed-mustard through Front Line Demonstration. Agricultural Extension Review. 2010, 16-17. Bucheyeki, T. L.; Shenkalwa, E. M.; Mapunda, T. X.; Matata, L.W. On-farm evaluation of promising groundnut varieties for adaptation and adoption in Tanzania. African Journal of Agricultural Research. 2008, 3(8), 531-536. Chandra, D.; Pallavi S C.; Sharma A.K. Review of Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn): A power house of health benefiting nutrients. Food Science and Human Wellness. 2016, 5( 3), 149-155. Choudhary, B. N. Krishi Vigyan Kendra - a guide for KVK managers. Division of Agricultural Extension, ICAR, 1999, 73-78. De Onis M.; Frongillo E.A.; Blossner, M. “Is malnutrition declining? An analysis of changes in levels of child malnutrition since, 1980.” Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 2000, 1222–1233. Gull, A.; Jan, R.; Nayik, G. A.; Prasad, K.; Kumar, P. Significance of Finger Millet in Nutrition, Health and Value added Products: A Review. Journal of Environmental Science, Computer Science and Engineering & Technology, JECET. 2014, 3(3), 1601-1608. Gupta, S .M.; Arora, S.; Mirza, N.; Pande, A.; Lata, C.; Puranik, ; Kumar, J.; Kumar, A. Finger Millet: A “Certain” Crop for an “Uncertain” Future and a Solution to Food Insecurity and Hidden Hunger under Stressful Environments. Frontiers on Plant Sci. 2017, 8, 643 Joshi, H. C.; Katoch, K. K. Nutritive value of millets: A comparison with cereals and pseudocereals. Himalayan Res. Dev. 1990, 9, 26-28. Kande, M.; Dhami, N B.; Subedi, N.; Shrestha, J. Arjun. Field evaluation and nutritional benefits of finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) 2019. Katare, S.; Pandey, S.K.; Mustafa, M. Yield gap analysis of Rapeseed-mustard through front line demonstration. Agriculture update. 2011, 6(2), 5-7. Lupien, J.R. Sorghum and millets in human nutrition. FAO, ICRISAT. At: ao.org. 1990, 86. Mohanty, B. Odisha Millet Mission: The successes and the challenges. 2020. 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Morphological diversity in finger millet germplasm introduced from Southern and Eastern. African Journal of SAT Agriculture Research. 2007, 3(1). ejournal.icrisat.org. Vadivoo, A.S.; Joseph, R. Genetic variability and diversity for protein and calcium contents in finger millet (Elusine coracona (L.) Gaertn) in relation to grain color. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition Dordrecht. 1998, 52, 353-364. Department of Botany, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Deemed University, Coimbatore, TN, 641 043, India.

It was the Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan who first introduced the term ‘global village’ into the lexicon, almost fifty years ago. He was referring to the phenomenon of global interconnectedness of which we are all too aware today. At that time, we were witnessing the world just opening up. In 1946, British Airways had commenced a twice weekly service from London to New York. The flight involved one or two touch downs en-route and took a scheduled 19 hours and 45 minutes. By the time McLuhan had published his book “Understanding media; the extensions of man”, there were regular services by jet around the globe. London to Sydney was travelled in just under 35 hours. Moving forward to a time immediately pre-covid, there were over 30 non-stop flights a day in each direction between London and New York. The travel time from London to Sydney had been cut by a third, to slightly under 22 hours, with just one touchdown en-route. The world has well and truly ‘opened up’. No place is unreachable by regular services. But that is just one part of the picture. In 1962, the very first live television pictures were transmitted across the Atlantic, via satellite. It was a time when sports’ fans would tune in besides a crackling radio set to hear commentary of their favourite game relayed from the other side of the world. Today of course, not only can we watch a live telecast of the Olympic Games in the comfort of our own homes wherever the games are being held, but we can pick up a telephone and talk face to face with friends and relatives in real time, wherever they may be in the world. To today’s generation – generation Z – this does not seem in the least bit remarkable. Indeed, they have been nicknamed ‘the connected generation’ precisely because such a degree of human interconnectedness no longer seems worth commenting on. The media technology and the transport advances that underpin this level of connectedness, have become taken for granted assumptions to them. This is why the global events of 2020 and the associated public health related reactions, have proved to be so remarkable to them. It is mass travel and the closeness and variety of human contact in day-to-day interactions, that have provided the breeding ground for the pandemic. Consequently, moving around and sharing close proximity with many strangers, have been the activities that have had to be curbed, as the initial primary means to manage the spread of the virus. This has caused hardship to many, either through the loss of a job and the associated income or, the lengthy enforced separation from family and friends – for the many who find themselves living and working far removed from their original home. McLuhan’s powerful metaphor was ahead of its time. His thoughts were centred around media and electronic communications well prior to the notion of a ‘physical’ pandemic, which today has provided an equally potent image of how all of our fortunes have become intertwined, no matter where we sit in the world. Yet it is this event which seems paradoxically to have for the first time forced us to consider more closely the path of progress pursued over the last half century. It is as if we are experiencing for the first time the unleashing of powerful and competing forces, which are both centripetal and centrifugal. On the one hand we are in a world where we have a World Health Organisation. This is a body which has acted as a global force, first declaring the pandemic and subsequently acting in response to it as a part of its brief for international public health. It has brought the world’s scientists and global health professionals together to accelerate the research and development process and develop new norms and standards to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and help care for those affected. At the same time, we have been witnessing nations retreating from each other and closing their borders in order to restrict the interaction of their citizens with those from other nations around the world. We have perceived that danger and risk are increased by international travel and human to human interaction. As a result, increasingly communication has been carried out from the safety and comfort of one’s own home, with electronic media taking the place of personal interaction in the real world. The change to the media dominated world, foreseen by McLuhan a half century ago, has been hastened and consolidated by the threats posed by Covid 19. Real time interactions can be conducted more safely and more economically by means of the global reach of the internet and the ever-enhanced technologies that are being offered to facilitate that. Yet at a geopolitical level prior to Covid 19, the processes of globalism and nationalism were already being recognised as competing forces. In many countries, tensions have emerged between those who are benefitting from the opportunities presented by the development of free trade between countries and those who are invested in more traditional ventures, set in their own nations and communities. The emerging beneficiaries have become characterised as the global elites. Their demographic profile is one associated with youth, education and progressive social ideas. However, they are counter-balanced by those who, rather than opportunities, have experienced threats from the disruptions and turbulence around them. Among the ideas challenged, have been the expected certainties of employment, social values and the security with which many grew up. Industries which have been the lifeblood of their communities are facing extinction and even the security of housing and a roof over the heads of self and family may be under threat. In such circumstances, some people may see waves of new immigrants, technology, and changing social values as being tides which need to be turned back. Their profile is characterised by a demographic less equipped to face such changes - the more mature, less well educated and less mobile. Yet this tension appears to be creating something more than just the latest version of the generational divide. The recent clashes between Republicans and Democrats in the US have provided a very potent example of these societal stresses. The US has itself exported some of these arenas of conflict to the rest of the world. Black lives Matter and #Me too, are social movements with their foundation in the US which have found their way far beyond the immediate contexts which gave them birth. In the different national settings where these various tensions have emerged, they have been characterised through labels such as left and right, progressive and traditional, the ‘haves’ versus the ‘have nots’ etc. Yet common to all of this growing competitiveness between ideologies and values is a common thread. The common thread lies in the notion of competition itself. It finds itself expressed most potently in the spread and adoption of ideas based on what has been termed the neoliberal values of the free market. These values have become ingrained in the language and concepts we employ every day. Thus, everything has a price and ultimately the price can be represented by a dollar value. We see this process of commodification around us on a daily basis. Sports studies’ scholars have long drawn attention to its continuing growth in the world of sport, especially in situations when it overwhelms the human characteristics of the athletes who are at the very heart of sport. When the dollar value of the athlete and their performance becomes more important than the individual and the game, then we find ourselves at the heart of some of the core problems reported today. It is at the point where sport changes from an experience, where the athletes develop themselves and become more complete persons experiencing positive and enriching interactions with fellow athletes, to an environment where young athletes experience stress and mental and physical ill health as result of their experiences. Those who are supremely talented (and lucky?) are rewarded with fabulous riches. Others can find themselves cast out on the scrap heap as a result of an unfair selection process or just the misfortune of injury. Sport as always, has proved to be a mirror of life in reflecting this process in the world at large, highlighting the heights that can be climbed by the fortunate as well as the depths that can be plumbed by the ill-fated. Advocates of the free-market approach will point to the opportunities it can offer. Figures can show that in a period of capitalist organised economies, there has been an unprecedented reduction in the amount of poverty in the world. Despite rapid growth in populations, there has been some extraordinary progress in lifting people out of extreme poverty. Between 1990 and 2010, the numbers in poverty fell by half as a share of the total population in developing countries, from 43% to 21%—a reduction of almost 1 billion people (The Economist Leader, June 1st, 2013). Nonetheless the critics of capitalism will continue to point to an increasing gap between the haves and don’t haves and specifically a decline in the ‘middle classes’, which have for so long provided the backbone of stable democratic societies. This delicate balance between retreating into our own boundaries as a means to manage the pandemic and resuming open borders to prevent economic damage to those whose businesses and employment depend upon the continuing movement of people and goods, is one which is being agonised over at this time in liberal democratic societies around the world. The experience of the pandemic has varied between countries, not solely because of the strategies adopted by politicians, but also because of the current health systems and varying social and economic conditions of life in different parts of the world. For many of us, the crises and social disturbances noted above have been played out on our television screens and websites. Increasingly it seems that we have been consuming our life experiences in a world dominated by our screens and sheltered from the real messiness of life. Meanwhile, in those countries with a choice, the debate has been between public health concerns and economic health concerns. Some have argued that the two are not totally independent of each other, while others have argued that the extent to which they are seen as interrelated lies in the extent to which life’s values have themselves become commodified. Others have pointed to the mental health problems experienced by people of all ages as a result of being confined for long periods of time within limited spaces and experiencing few chances to meet with others outside their immediate household. Still others have experienced different conditions – such as the chance to work from home in a comfortable environment and be freed from the drudgery of commuting in crowded traffic or public transport. So, at a national/communal level as well as at an individual level, this international crisis has exposed people to different decisions. It has offered, for many, a chance to recalibrate their lives. Those who have the resources, are leaving the confines of the big capital cities and seeking a healthier and less turbulent existence in quieter urban centres. For those of us in what can be loosely termed ‘an information industry’, today’s work practices are already an age away from what they were in pre-pandemic times. Yet again, a clear split is evident. The notion of ‘essential industries’ has been reclassified. The delivery of goods, the facilitation of necessary purchase such as food; these and other tasks have acquired a new significance which has enhanced the value of those who deliver these services. However, for those whose tasks can be handled via the internet or offloaded to other anonymous beings a readjustment of a different kind is occurring. So to the future - for those who have suffered ill-health and lost loved ones, the pandemic only reinforces the human priority. Health and well-being trumps economic health and wealth where choices can be made. The closeness of human contact has been reinforced by the tales of families who have been deprived of the touch of their loved ones, many of whom still don’t know when that opportunity will be offered again. When writing our editorial, a year ago, I little expected to be still pursuing a Covid related theme today. Yet where once we were expecting to look back on this time as a minor hiccough, with normal service being resumed sometime last year, it has not turned out to be that way. Rather, it seems that we have been offered a major reset opportunity in the way in which we continue to progress our future as humans. The question is, will we be bold enough to see the opportunity and embrace a healthier more equitable more locally responsible lifestyle or, will we revert to a style of ‘progress’ where powerful countries, organisations and individuals continue to amass increased amounts of wealth and influence and become increasingly less responsive to the needs of individuals in the throng below. Of course, any retreat from globalisation as it has evolved to date, will involve disruption of a different kind, which will inevitably lead to pain for some. It seems inevitable that any change and consequent progress is going to involve winners and losers. Already airline companies and the travel industry are putting pressure on governments to “get back to normal” i.e. where things were previously. Yet, in the shadow of widespread support for climate activism and the extinction rebellion movement, reports have emerged that since the lockdowns air pollution has dropped dramatically around the world – a finding that clearly offers benefits to all our population. In a similar vein the impossibility of overseas air travel in Australia has resulted in a major increase in local tourism, where more inhabitants are discovering the pleasures of their own nation. The transfer of their tourist and holiday dollars from overseas to local tourist providers has produced at one level a traditional zero-sum outcome, but it has also been accompanied by a growing appreciation of local citizens for the wonders of their own land and understanding of the lives of their fellow citizens as well as massive savings in foregone air travel. Continuing to define life in terms of competition for limited resources will inevitably result in an ever-continuing run of zero-sum games. Looking beyond the prism of competition and personal reward has the potential to add to what Michael Sandel (2020) has termed ‘the common good’. Does the possibility of a reset, offer the opportunity to recalibrate our views of effort and reward to go beyond a dollar value and include this important dimension? How has sport been experiencing the pandemic and are there chances for a reset here? An opinion piece from Peter Horton in this edition, has highlighted the growing disconnect of professional sport at the highest level from the communities that gave them birth. Is this just another example of the outcome of unrestrained commodification? Professional sport has suffered in the pandemic with the cancelling of fixtures and the enforced absence of crowds. Yet it has shown remarkable resilience. Sport science staff may have been reduced alongside all the auxiliary workers who go to make up the total support staff on match days and other times. Crowds have been absent, but the game has gone on. Players have still been able to play and receive the support they have become used to from trainers, physiotherapists and analysts, although for the moment there may be fewer of them. Fans have had to rely on electronic media to watch their favourites in action– but perhaps that has just encouraged the continuing spread of support now possible through technology which is no longer dependent on personal attendance through the turnstile. Perhaps for those committed to the watching of live sport in the outdoors, this might offer a chance for more attention to be paid to sport at local and community levels. Might the local villagers be encouraged to interrelate with their hometown heroes, rather than the million-dollar entertainers brought in from afar by the big city clubs? To return to the village analogy and the tensions between global and local, could it be that the social structure of the village has become maladapted to the reality of globalisation? If we wish to retain the traditional values of village life, is returning to our village a necessary strategy? If, however we see that today the benefits and advantages lie in functioning as one single global community, then perhaps we need to do some serious thinking as to how that community can function more effectively for all of its members and not just its ‘elites’. As indicated earlier, sport has always been a reflection of our society. Whichever way our communities decide to progress, sport will have a place at their heart and sport scholars will have a place in critically reflecting the nature of the society we are building. It is on such a note that I am pleased to introduce the content of volume 43:1 to you. We start with a reminder from Hoyoon Jung of the importance of considering the richness provided by a deep analysis of context, when attempting to evaluate and compare outcomes for similar events. He examines the concept of nation building through sport, an outcome that has been frequently attributed to the conduct of successful events. In particular, he examines this outcome in the context of the experiences of South Africa and Brazil as hosts of world sporting events. The mega sporting event that both shared was the FIFA world cup, in 2010 and 2014 respectively. Additional information could be gained by looking backwards to the 1995 Rugby World Cup in the case of South Africa and forward to the 2016 Olympics with regard to Brazil. Differentiating the settings in terms of timing as well as in the makeup of the respective local cultures, has led Jung to conclude that a successful outcome for nation building proved possible in the case of South Africa. However, different settings, both economically and socially, made it impossible for Brazil to replicate the South African experience. From a globally oriented perspective to a more local one, our second paper by Rafal Gotowski and Marta Anna Zurawak examines the growth and development, with regard to both participation and performance, of a more localised activity in Poland - the Nordic walking marathon. Their analysis showed that this is a locally relevant activity that is meeting the health-related exercise needs of an increasing number of people in the middle and later years, including women. It is proving particularly beneficial as an activity due to its ability to offer a high level of intensity while reducing the impact - particularly on the knees. The article by Petr Vlček, Richard Bailey, Jana Vašíčková XXABSTRACT Claude Scheuer is also concerned with health promoting physical activity. Their focus however is on how the necessary habit of regular and relevant physical activity is currently being introduced to the younger generation in European schools through the various physical education curricula. They conclude that physical education lessons, as they are currently being conducted, are not providing the needed 50% minimum threshold of moderate to vigorous physical activity. They go further, to suggest that in reality, depending on the physical education curriculum to provide the necessary quantum of activity within the child’s week, is going to be a flawed vision, given the instructional and other objectives they are also expected to achieve. They suggest implementing instead an ‘Active Schools’ concept, where the PE lessons are augmented by other school-based contexts within a whole school programme of health enhancing physical activity for children. Finally, we step back to the global and international context and the current Pandemic. Eric Burhaein, Nevzt Demirci, Carla Cristina Vieira Lourenco, Zsolt Nemeth and Diajeng Tyas Pinru Phytanza have collaborated as a concerned group of physical educators to provide an important international position statement which addresses the role which structured and systematic physical activity should assume in the current crisis. This edition then concludes with two brief contributions. The first is an opinion piece by Peter Horton which provides a professional and scholarly reaction to the recent attempt by a group of European football club owners to challenge the global football community and establish a self-governing and exclusive European Super League. It is an event that has created great alarm and consternation in the world of football. Horton reflects the outrage expressed by that community and concludes: While recognising the benefits accruing from well managed professionalism, the essential conflict between the values of sport and the values of market capitalism will continue to simmer below the surface wherever sport is commodified rather than practised for more ‘intrinsic’ reasons. We conclude however on a more celebratory note. We are pleased to acknowledge the recognition achieved by one of the members of our International Review Board. The career and achievements of Professor John Wang – a local ‘scholar’- have been recognised in his being appointed as the foundation E.W. Barker Professor in Physical Education and Sport at the Nanyang Technological University. This is a well-deserved honour and one that reflects the growing stature of the Singapore Physical Education and Sports Science community within the world of International Sport Studies. John Saunders Brisbane, June 2021

Purpose Researchers and policymakers have given attention to generic skills development in higher institutions. One of the intentions is to broaden graduate employability with generic skills. In South Africa, there is a paucity of research concerning future built environment practitioners’ (FBEP) generic skills development from the students’ perspective. Thus, this paper aims to investigate South Africa’s FBEP generic skills and suggest feasible solutions to improve FBEP generic skills from the students’ perception. Design/methodology/approach The researchers collated the views of FBEP via a phenomenology type of qualitative research design. It covered selected South African public universities and investigated the discourses that underpin “perceived hindrance” in developing generic skills for FBEP. Selected 30 FBEP were engaged in the virtual interviews across three public universities. Data saturation was achieved. Three themes emerged and were analysed through a thematic analysis. Findings Findings show that FBEP generic skills development will enhance integrated productivity and higher value for money in construction project delivery. But developing these skills demands a holistic approach. Findings have raised concern with the perceived hindrances facing FBEP in developing generic skills. Findings suggest the need to revisit and revamp the curricula to develop these skills and strengthen policies that will “nip” possible hindrances. Research limitations/implications This study was limited to South Africa’s FBEP generic skills from students’ perception. In line with the limited resources, three public universities were covered from the selected provinces in South Africa. Future research with a more diverse sample is needed to ensure a better representative and generalisation of findings. Practical implications Findings show that apart from academic knowledge system thinking skills, civic responsibility skills and critical thinking skills are germane for intending construction industry professionals. Others are integrated teamwork skills, good attitude and communication skills, entrepreneurship skills and resources management skills. Findings from this paper may stir up the education sector’s stakeholders to revamp the curricula in enhancing these skills among students from the basic to higher institutions. The outcome will improve productivity in the construction industry. Originality/value Although few scholars have discussed generic skills in the built environment, there are limited studies from the students’ context in developing countries, a South Africa case study, a gap this research aims to fill. Also, it proffers ways to mitigate perceived hindrances facing FBEP in developing generic skills.

Area Studies and Study Abroad in the 21st Century The future now belongs to societies that organize themselves for learning. - Ray Marshall and Marc Tucker, Thinking for a Living, xiii Few today would argue with the conviction that nearly every phase of our daily lives is shaped and informed by global societies, corporations, events and ideas. More than ever before, it is possible to claim that we are increasingly aware of the dynamic power and penetrating effects of global flows on information, technology, the sciences, the arts, the humanities, and languages. Borderless, spaceless and timeless, such sources of knowledge, it appears, are effortlessly digested and disseminated without clocks, calendars, or physical limitations. It is, of course, a mistake to believe that packages of “instant” knowledge that appear to wing their way at megahertz speeds in and through our earthly lives account for all or nearly all that there is to know—or, more importantly, to learn—about our communities, regions and the globe itself. On the contrary: the “knowing” about how to live, to work, to prosper, or to understand ourselves and those around us is not what educators mean when they speak of intellectual achievement and practical understanding. It is the “learning” about us, our societies and our global knowledge that lies at the heart of the international educator’s life work, and it is the learning that is the most controversial aspect of education. The act of “learning,” in fact, is less objective and more subjective, is less passive and more active, and is less superficial and more profound in each of our lives. By definition, a responsible learner is one who takes on the intellectual challenge and the social and personal obligation to leave this globe a better place for those who follow, who assumes the life work of influencing the lives of others, and who is committed to making the best of every opportunity both within the reach and beyond the vision of the mind’s eye. Study abroad has traditionally been viewed as a time of seeing and viewing, however passively, the differences and similarities of other peoples, societies and cultures. The period of knowing about what others do or say can occur at any time during one’s life; however, the “knowing” of studying abroad is accomplished in the college years prior to the accumulated knowledge about practical learning and living. In this respect, study abroad has been seen as an experience which may or may not invest the students in greater or lesser insights about the peoples, societies or cultures around them. Further, when study abroad is bound up with travel or movement from place to place, it can become a passive act, so much so that travel rather than learning becomes the goal of the study abroad experience. Simply put, the more that one travels, the more, it is argued, one learns. Furthermore, while seen as desirable for “classroom learning,” some would say that no amount of academic preparation appears to be useful in the enterprise of the travel experience, since so many experiences are unpredictable, individualized and, in some cases, arbitrary. From the perspective of study abroad, it might be said that the gods of area studies no longer completely fulfill our students’ needs, while the gods of global studies have not yet fulfilled their promises. Janus-like, international educators look in one direction at a still highly intense and valued picture of local cultures and identities, and in another direction toward an increasingly common culture, economy and society. The former appears to celebrate the differences and “uncommonness” of the human experience while the latter smoothes over the differences to underscore the commonalities and sameness of our contemporary world. The choice appears to be between the particular and the universal, the local and the global. Academic preparations, such as area studies programs, appear to be unnecessary for the individualized forms of learning, such as study abroad. Indeed, since an area studies preparation may raise or strengthen stereotypical perceptions of the overseas peoples, societies and cultures, it has been argued that it best be left aside. In this context, students are viewed as a tabula rasa on which new discoveries from living and studying overseas leave an imprint or impression. It seems that sending as many students as possible in as many directions as possible has become the dominant study abroad objective. Thus, “whole world” presentations and documentation often rely on the “other” as the learning objective with little or no attempt to discriminate or distinguish the levels of learning that such “whole world” immersion entails. In recent times, additional concerns about liability, health, safety and comfort levels have been added to the “pre-departure” orientations and training programs. The “student as self-learner” continues to be viewed and treated as a “customer knowledge-consumer” within both U.S. private and public colleges and universities. In the age of “globalization,” it is the conviction of the editors of Frontiers that knowledge consumption is only a small aspect of the 21st century international educators’ arsenal. More importantly, it will be argued in this special issue on area studies and Study Abroad that the intellectual development of the U.S. undergraduate needs to be enhanced with skills of self-learning and transdisciplinary perspectives on local and regional cultures and languages. The authors contributing to this special thematic issue of Frontiers have been asked to bring their state-of-the-art thinking on area studies to bear on the key question confronting study abroad: How does specialized understanding of geographical and cultural areas of the world enhance and strengthen undergraduate learning on and beyond our campuses? In other words, in what ways do area studies inform overseas learning through the activity of study abroad? The variety of responses demonstrates two principal ways in which area studies has begun to reformulate its goals and strategies. First, area studies reaffirms a commitment to local and regional comprehensive research and teaching, and redefines its mission in terms of the need to come to grips with local knowledge and specific social and cultural practices within a globalized world. Second, area studies specialists question long-held definitions of concepts, including those of “geographical area” and “globalization,” in order to maximize contributions to U.S. undergraduate learning. David Ludden begins our issue with a review of the Social Science Research Council and the Ford Foundation’s understanding of the transition in area studies from the Sputnik era to the globalization era. Ludden notes the faculty dilemma in working in an “area.” He points out the political interests of the Cold War for public funding of such specialized academic skills, skills which, whether funded by the government or not, were and continue to be defined by the scholar first and then by finances. Drawing on his own experience at the South Asia Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, Ludden takes the reader through the intellectual rationale for area studies, and how that rationale is being redefined in favor of stronger area studies in the present globalization era. Gregory Kulacki’s study of China and the Chinese experience points accurately to one approach to defining area studies; that is, in terms of the peoples and cultures studied. In a sense, Kulacki makes it clear that Chinese studies is “legitimate” and has authority as long as it reflects the Chinese themselves, their experiences and lives. Ann Curthoys, on the other hand, notes the growing importance of defining Australians and Australian studies not only in terms of the changing experiences of contemporary Australia, but also in terms of the demands of non-Australians, who ask for more precision in defining Australians, their history, society and cultures. Richard Beach and George Sherman take on a more difficult matter, at least from the viewpoint of U.S. faculty and students. Canada is rarely seen as a study abroad site for U.S. students, not only because of its geographical position but also for its cultural and historical proximity. The overall U.S. view, albeit unflattering, is that Canada and Canadians are very much like the U.S. and Americans, so why study in Canada? Beach and Sherman argue that history, languages, and borders do make a difference, both physically as well as culturally. Using the argument of the previous area studies specialists, they are interested in the ways that Canadians have shaped and informed their cultural and social identities in the teeth of U.S. economic and political domination in the region. The implications of globalization are, perhaps, more immediately evident in the Canadian case than in any other world region. U.S. students would do well to observe the processes of adaptation and acculturation first-hand by studying and living in Canada. James Petras gives us a broader vista of regional adaptation to the economic and political forces of globalization with his essay on Latin America. Indeed, Latin America has a dynamic similar to that of Canada due to its physical, cultural and historical proximity to the U.S. It would be a mistake to see Latin America only in terms of the north-south regional dynamics, since Europe, Asia and Africa have also shaped both past and present structures and institutions within that region in ways far more dramatic than has the United States. Study abroad, Petras reminds us, is an excellent way of learning directly about Latin American societies, cultures and politics from Latin Americans themselves, a learning that may be widely different from the official U.S. diplomatic and corporate perspectives. Finally, the very familiar world regions, such as England, offer in some cases more challenges to the U.S. undergraduate than might be expected. Jane Edwards looks at Britain and all that U.S. students may or may not know about that culture and society. The study of Britain lends itself, Edwards argues, to more than the usual challenges, due to the preconceived notions that U.S. students bring with them to, say, London. Understanding the “European-ness” of Britain and its historic relationship with continental Western Europe will justify the need to see Britain as less familiar and more complex, thus necessitating the need to study, visit and live in parts of Britain and Western Europe. In this case, the area does define the country, its identity and culture in a historical interplay of social, cultural and economic forces. David Lloyd, Philip Khoury and Russell Bova invite the reader to return to large regional perspectives through African, Middle Eastern and Russian area studies. David Lloyd presents an analysis of the broad and immediate contexts of African studies. While recognizing the difficulty of establishing consistently causal links between African studies and study abroad in Africa, he delineates the significance of local, experience-based study for the development of collaborative African studies research. Lloyd argues that the benefits of study abroad in Africa to African studies belie the relatively small number of students involved. Further, assessment for funding and other purposes needs to utilize criteria that take into account the challenges of on-site study in Africa and the depth of post-study abroad participation not just in African studies per se, but in other related areas as well. Considering the recent past of Middle East studies, Philip Khoury charts its response to post-Cold War criticism. He illustrates new directions the field is taking towards including different geographic areas, and new emphasis in organizational priorities, noting the importance of funding for providing first-hand contact for students in Middle Eastern studies with scholars from the Middle East. Khoury assesses the impact of recent historical and political events in the area on Middle Eastern studies, and looks toward more inclusive research efforts. Russell Bova examines another region that has undergone considerable political, social and economic change in the 20th century. Having moved from empire to soviet socialist states and now to a confederation of nation states, Russia and, naturally, Russian area studies, offer an excellent example of local and regional complexities both in the nomenclature of the region and in the changes in Russian studies programs. Bova illustrates the need to understand the specific dynamics of local communities in their relationship to larger administrative units such as provinces, states and national capitals. In referring to the “double transition” of contemporary Russia, Bova reminds us that globalization is both a grass roots and elite process with many unlikely “bedfellows” that is also changing more rapidly each decade than had been the case fifty years ago. Finally, Richard Falk and Nancy Kanach collaborate to discuss the ways in which globalization and study abroad are emerging in the post-Cold War period. The sudden shifts of economic and political power make our world more fragile and more difficult to comprehend without considering the “computer gap” that is rapidly leaving whole communities and even nations in a more uneven relationship with the power brokers than ever before. The need to reflect with care and precision through area studies is complemented by the additional pressing need to study, see and learn outside of the U.S. Globalization means promoting study abroad and reaffirming the strengths of local and regional studies. Taken together, these essays invite international educators to reconsider notions of learning before, during and after study abroad. The writers view study abroad as an opportunity for social and intellectual engagement with other peoples and with oneself. The essays point to a variety of ways of intellectually preparing our students for their initial encounters with sets of real-life global experiences. Reflecting on such engagement and encounters allows students to begin to formulate, with increasing sophistication, specific and general concepts about individual differences, local and regional commonalities, and the global transformations of our present era. In light of the current area studies debates, we might also reconsider approaches to pre-departure preparations, create onsite projects, and reorganize the overseas curricula of study abroad programs themselves. In particular, students can continue to benefit from area and global studies programs back on the home campus upon their return, where they can enter effectively into scholarly debates and continue the learning and personal growth that began while they were abroad. Frontiers welcomes comments and suggestions for future special issues. We see ourselves and our field of international education in greater need of close cooperation with our faculty colleagues both in terms of defining the work of international learning, and in terms of formulating and designing international or global programs. We thus invite our readers to see Frontiers as a forum for such academic exchanges, and promise that Frontiers will respond to articles, essays, book reviews and reviews of resources for study abroad with collegial interest and enthusiasm. We wish to thank especially Brian Whalen, Rhoda Borcherding and our other colleagues on the Editorial Board for their support, encouragement and assistance in completing this special issue. We are particularly pleased with the authors and their willingness to listen to our requests and comments. Thomas Ricks, Villanova University Katharine Krebs, SUNY Binghamton Michael Monahan, Macalester College Suggestions for Further Reading Altbach, Philip G. and Patti McGill Peterson, eds. Higher Education in the 21st Century: Global Challenge and National Response. IIE Research Report Number 29. Annapolis, MD: IIE Books, 1999. This slim volume focuses on principal topics for colleges and universities to consider both locally and globally. Philip Altbach and Todd Davis set the tone of the volume with their “notes for an international dialogue on higher education.” Stressing the need for practical education, the authors also raise issues about the role of technology, the increase in “internationally mobile students,” the global role of graduate education, privatization of higher education, committed faculty and the threats of “managerialized” universities. The eight responses to the opening themes address specific issues for China, India, Africa and South Africa, Latin America, Japan and Europe. The work is a very good discussion text for international educators and their area studies faculty colleagues, and also provides a theoretical basis for the design and development of overseas programs. Stephen R. Graubard, ed. “Education Yesterday, Education Tomorrow.” Daedalus. Vol. 127, No. 4 (Fall, 1998). The eleven authors of this issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences build off the Fall 1995 issue of Daedalus and its topic of “American Education: Still Separate, Still Unequal.” While neither accepting nor rejecting the thrust of A Nation at Risk, the authors look both at what has occurred over the past three decades, and at what is on the horizon for the next decade. In stressing reforms of systems and innovative ways of learning, the authors’ discussions invite the international educator to address a variety of ways in which students learn and to challenge the system in which they thrive. WWW. NAFSA.ORG/SECUSSA.WHYSTUDY In 1989, NAFSA and COUNCIL created the Whole World Committee (WWC). Initially chaired by John Sommers and now chaired by Mick Vandenberg, the WWC set out to find ways by which U.S. students could and would choose non-European overseas sites for a semester of study and learning. One of the tasks that the WWC accomplished was the creation of four area study essays on Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East. Each essay, entitled “Why Study in …,” addresses basic fears and stereotyping of the non-European world regions. The essays then focus on benefits, health and safety, “getting started,” housing, and practical learning in each of these regions. In newly-attached longer versions, the essays also have a bibliography and more informative texts. The shorter versions were published serially in Transitions Abroad. NAFSA has added two additional important essays to this website, on “Class and Study Abroad” and “An African-American in South Africa.” Overall, the readers of Frontiers will be well-advised to access the articles at the website and consider using all the essays in their pre-departure orientation training, faculty area studies discussion groups, and in welcome-back sessions for returning students. Richard Falk. Predatory Globalization: A Critique. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 1999. The thesis of Richard Falk’s critique is that “predatory globalization’ has eroded, if not altogether broken, the former social contract that was forged between state and society during the last century or so” (p. 3). The breaking of that contract resulted from the state’s “deference to the discipline of global capital” and the neglect of the common good. Falk argues that only the “massing of strong transnational social pressures on the states of the world could alter the political equation to the point where the state could sufficiently recover its autonomy in relation to the world economy.” He demonstrates the emergence of a new kind of transnational politics referred to as “globalization-from-below.” In restoring “global civil society,” this new politics will need to move forward with the project of cosmopolitan democracy, including the protection of human rights. For the international educator, creating overseas programs that allow for a better understanding of the interconnectedness of regional and global levels is an admirable goal. More important, however, are those programs that offer U.S. undergraduates insights into “world order priorities” such as global poverty, protection of the planet, the sources of transnational violence, and “responsible sovereignty” in ways rarely found in traditional classroom learning on our campuses. Mark Tessler, Jodi Nachtwey and Anne Banda. Eds. Area Studies and Social Science: Strategies for Understanding Middle East Politics. Bloomington and Indianapolis, IN: Indiana University Press, 1999. This edited work addresses a wide range of issues involved in the “rational choice” versus area studies debate that is so well elucidated by David Ludden in the opening article of our special issue. Looking at the “area studies controversy” from the perspective of political scientists, the editors’ Introduction underscores questions that we international educators need to address ourselves. It is valuable to wonder about the “uses and abuses” of area studies in planning our overseas programs, or discussing the “internationalization” of our curricula. It is also critical to understand the Eurocentric and overly-simplistic approaches of the social science “rational choice” models. While agreeing that both area studies and the social science theories and methodologies are necessary for a global understanding, the present work places such questions within the context of the Middle East as a stimulus and a model for increasing the value of research about any country or region.

A recent proposal by the Council for Higher Education (CHE) outlines a solution to the persistently low and racially skewed completion rates in South African higher education. This involves lengthening the curricula of all qualifications through the insertion of 120 credits of ‘foundational provision’. This article provides a critique of this strategy by exploring its origins and placing South African efforts at improving student access and success in the international context. It draws on the narratives of two academics, one a top research professor and the other a foundation programme lecturer, employing the theoretical lens of Pierre Bourdieu to examine higher education as a social space or field. This analysis suggests that the power structure of higher education itself is likely to constrain the effectiveness of the CHE’s proposal and ultimately fail to shift the low and racially skewed completion rates that plague South African higher education.

This article explores some of the complexities of teaching art and design history to students in a Design Extended Curriculum Programme at a university of technology in the context of post-1994 South African society—a society troubled by the ghosts of colonial and apartheid histories that agitate the present/future. Tracking a series of diffractive pedagogical encounters, the article makes visible how, as a discipline, art history haunts the curriculum by reinforcing Western cultural superiority. The article argues that speaking-with and drawing-with dis/appeared ghosts offer new possibilities for reconfiguring art history curriculum studies that both valorise historicity and in turn open us towards different futures. The case study centres around the construction of the “Venus figure” as an embodiment of humanist Western cultural ideologies and practices that reduce the female body to an object of capture for man. Students intra-act with various representations of the Venus figure across art history through the story of Sarah Baartman, the so-called “Hottentot Venus”, whose haunting presence continues to contour, colour and texture discourses around decolonising the curriculum in South African higher education.

Background: Ghana has developed two significant programs for modern naturopathic education in Africa. This success story makes Ghana one of the first countries in the West African sub-region to promote and advocate for the standardized structured naturopathic practice. This also makes Ghana join the likes of countries with a well-defined Naturopathic education such as South Africa, India, North America, and the like. In the case of South Africa, the Naturopathic program is offered at the School of Natural Medicine at the University of the Western Cape, a public institution. However, in the case of Ghana, there is a dedicated university for the promotion of naturopathy and Holistic Health programs. This, therefore, makes Ghana the first on the African continent to have a dedicated university to teach Naturopathy and Holistic Medicine. With a team of Naturopathic and Biomedical Science professionals in both clinical and academic practice, the Nyarkotey University College of Holistic Medicine & Technology (NUCHMT) provided a roadmap in this area. National Occupational Standard was further developed at the Higher National Diploma (HND) and Bachelor in Naturopathy and Holistic Medicine approved by the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) for training two different cadres of Naturopathic Professionals. The HND aims to train Naturopaths and Bachelors to train Naturopathic Physicians. As part of training professionals to meet international standards, the curricula were benchmarked as part of approval requirements. This research paper examines the Ghanaian naturopathic curriculum to assess if it meets the Indian model for training Naturopathic Physicians. Objective: To critically review the Ghanaian naturopathy curriculum approved by the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET). Methods: This is qualitative research that used a document analysis. In this stage, we undertook an in-depth curricula evaluation and comparison with the Ghanaian Bachelor of Naturopathy and Holistic Medicine and the Indian Bachelor of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences (BNYS). Results: We found that the Ghanaian and Indian Naturopathy curricula have some similarities and differences. The difference between the Indian and Ghanaian programs is that the first year is extended in the Indian BYNS for additional 6 months. Conclusion. The subjects offered in the Ghanaian naturopathic curriculum are on the same level as the Indian standards. However, the Indian curriculum has yogic sciences as an important aspect of naturopathic education which cannot be said in the Ghanaian curriculum.

Entrepreneurship education is broadly considered an important factor in promoting an entrepreneurial culture among higher education students. Considering the importance of entrepreneurship with regard to economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation, there is a need to train entrepreneurs and to equip them with an entrepreneurial culture that promotes entrepreneurship. However, the South African education system is lacking when it comes to entrepreneurship education. The education system seems to promote the white-collar jobs rather than self-employment, and the methodology that is used to teach entrepreneurship studies, focuses more on the theory of entrepreneurship than on its practice. Against this background, this study sought to identify the challenges to develop and support entrepreneurship education by focusing on the University of Zululand as a case study. The researcher used primary data for this study. The study adopted a qualitative approach, where data was collected using interview schedules from 11 heads of departments of the university’s faculties. The results from the study show that the development of curriculum, inexperienced educators, and the methodology used to teach entrepreneurship education, are some of the challenges that are hindering the promotion of entrepreneurship education. A policy implication that arose from these findings, is that there is a need for the development of entrepreneurship-based curriculum to promote entrepreneurship. The policymakers were also encouraged to employ educators who are qualified and experienced in teaching entrepreneurship. The development of incubation centres for grooming entrepreneurs at higher learning institutions was also recommended.

Abstract South African Higher Education Institution (HEI) Music Education (MusEd) lecturers’ perspectives regarding the contextual, institutional, biographical and programmatic forces that stem from the theoretical framework Samuel’s (2008) Force Field Model (FFM) were explored. The study was approached from an interpretivist paradigm and conceptually drew qualitative data generated from eight case studies to gain an in-depth understanding of the push and pull factors that influence professional practices. The major findings of the study indicated that lecturers should embrace transformation principles to decolonise the national curriculum. Biographic viewpoints have to be modified from a singular Western Classical viewpoint to integrate African Indigenous perspectives. To teach MusEd, elements and activities from diverse cultures as well as teach student teachers from diverse cultural backgrounds result in MusEd as a change agent to develop social cohesion between multicultural communities. Theoretical knowledge integrated with practical activities where the focus changes from achieving an individualistic perfect end product to the continuing process of ‘musicking’ together are proposed. The lecturers as facilitators, therefore, focus on a student-centred philosophy to guide student teachers’ development in MusEd. Insights gained from this study propose a future cosmopolitan teacher training framework.

This article distils some important lessons for Sub-Saharan Africa using case studies of three systems which have successfully linked their economic development and higher education policy and planning: namely Finland, South Korea, and North Carolina state in the USA. These lessons include the link between economic and education planning; the need for a high quality schooling system as the foundation for a productive higher education system; the importance of institutional differentiation, and the role of the state. Finally, it suggests reasons why policy makers should take note of the importance of higher education for development generally, and for economic development specifically.

Climate change is a worldwide phenomenon and it is a great concern to all countries as it brings about a global warming climate system that affects human behavior. South Africa, like other countries, is severely affected by climate change. Although attempts are increasingly made to integrate climate change into school curricula, teachers have challenges in preparing and implementing climate change lessons. This study, therefore, sought to review literature related to the integration of climate change education in the school curriculum and to identify the strategies teachers use when integrating climate change education in teaching and learning. The study adopted a literature review approach and a comprehensive electronic search for relevant literature was done using Google Scholar search and springer which led to the discovery of a research article suitable for the study. Three African countries Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa were selected as case studies. It emerged from the literature that although governments of South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya, are making concerted efforts to raise climate change awareness and education, there appear to be no clear strategies for teachers to use when integrating climate change education into their lessons. What appears is that these countries are concerned about the effects of climate change and are attempting to achieve its integration in the school curriculum. The study concludes that attempts to address climate change in these countries are made although with varied strategies and paces.

Since 1994 and the coming of democracy to South Africa there has been a concerted attempt to develop a coherent, unified educational system that will redress the inequities of the apartheid systems. Significant to this ongoing process is the field of higher education, where relevant legislation has been enacted in order to bring coherence and consistency to the education system in the public and private sectors. Significant issues have arisen with regard to the provision made by private religious educational institutions, especially those who have experienced difficulties in being accredited by statutory bodies. This paper seeks to explore these issues and suggest ways forward that are appropriate within an emerging unitary system of education that is fit for purpose in Africa and particularly South Africa, taking as a case study the formation of the Association of Christian Religious Practitioners.

This study sought to explore informetrics education in Library and Information Science (LIS) departments at universities in South Africa. We adopted the pragmatic epistemology and pluralistic ontology for our study. The mixed research methods we employed were survey and content analysis. The survey comprised a questionnaire by means of which we collected data from the LIS heads of department (HODs) and informetrics lecturers, and we employed content analysis to analyse the content of course outlines. The study’s population was the LIS departments at the surveyed tertiary education institutions in South Africa. Nine LIS departments were targeted, and eight of them responded. At the time of the study, five of the nine LIS departments were found to offer informetrics education, namely those at the University of Cape Town, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of Limpopo, University of the Western Cape, and University of Zululand. We established that the LIS department at the University of Zululand was the only department that offered informetrics education as an autonomous module/course as part of the full LIS programme. Other LIS departments offered it as a chapter or a unit in a module, and the University of Limpopo offered it at an undergraduate level. We found that the institutions surveyed offered informetrics education at different study levels and notches and that there was no uniformity in the content of the informetrics courses across the institutions’ LIS departments. Our findings indicated that the blended learning method was widely used, comprising case studies, group discussions, and online teaching and learning methods. We found that the various LIS departments experienced challenges (e.g. teaching capacity, student preparedness, and ICT support), and we suggested solutions to meet these challenges. We noted that informetrics education in South Africa was limited and we recommended more awareness creation, curricula development, short courses and awareness of global trends.

On 20 September 2019 in Cape Town, as part of the global protests on inaction on climate change, the African Climate Alliance submitted a memorandum of demands to South African government representatives, one of which was ‘the creation of a mandatory climate-education curriculum for South Africa’. This raises the question of how this imperative would be met within a tertiary music education context. Does the justified insistence on decolonised curricula in the period following the national #FeesMustFall protests of 2015–2016 allow space for inclusion of climate education? Given the links between social justice and environmental justice, there is certainly an argument for a focus on eco-literate education. What, then, would this include at South African tertiary music level? There are several (mostly United States based) course syllabi available online which focus mainly on themes and case studies in the field of ecomusicology. Daniel J. Shevock’s work on eco-literate music pedagogy strongly advocates for a place-based approach, but Greg Garrard’s critique would indicate otherwise. This article examines eco-critical and eco-literate theories and their application to music and uses the author’s own teaching context to outline ideas for integrating a more climate-related educational approach.