Globally, research has become a key driver for the achievement of status and the procurement of funding for higher education institutions. Although there is mounting pressure on institutions to become research active, many institutions are rooted in a strong tradition of teaching. These institutions find it challenging to develop research capacity…

Some historically black schools manage to do quite well despite their circumstances, such as dire poverty. We aim at explicating some of the causal factors regarding the effectiveness of three schools in deep rural Mpumalanga, South Africa by tapping the perceptions of their learners. Data were collected from learner samples (four girls and four…

Higher education in post-apartheid South Africa has experienced a relatively rapid changing landscape (Cloete, Maassen, Fehnel, & Moja, 2006). As such, the organizational environment in which university administrators operate is an increasingly important area of study. This study is grounded in organizational theory and adopts an open systems…

Social networking sites (SNS) affordances for persistent interaction, collective generation of knowledge, and formation of peer-based clusters for knowledge sharing render them useful for developing constructivist knowledge environments. However, notwithstanding their academic value, these environments are not necessarily insulated from the…

Discusses issues in bringing about change in a higher education institution, including required changes in organizational culture, processes involved in effecting them, and continued management of organizational culture. Constructs a conceptual framework for such change, and discusses actual changes and management practices at the University of…

Issues facing historically disadvantaged universities in South Africa are examined, focusing on their impact on the cognitive development of students. It is concluded that students' cognitive development is a strategic matter, requiring the coherent effort of a whole institution rather than being the exclusive province of any specialized units.…

An increase in nontraditional students in traditionally white South African universities suggests the need for a new learning environment. Semistructured interviews with six Rand Afrikaans University students focus on this transformation process and the various ways to manage it, with implications for the university discussed. The interview…