Academics In South Africa Research Articles

Gender factor and organisational citizenship behaviour among academics in South Africa

A company cannot grow unless its employees engage in meaningful behaviours. Therefore, higher learning institutions must foster organisational citizenship behaviour. An educational institution's overall operations are impacted by it, which significantly affects institutions’ operations, enhances the effectiveness of educators, and has a favourable effect on students' academic performance. However, the behaviours that men and women are expected to exhibit and how their actions are perceived are both influenced by their gender. Based on the role theory as the theoretical framework, this study explored the differences between male and female respondents' exhibition of altruism, conscientiousness, sportsmanship, courtesy, and civic virtue among academics. 253 academics were chosen at random from a group of 405 participants using a convenience sampling strategy. Data were gathered using a structured questionnaire and analysed through descriptive, factor analysis, and the Mann-Whitney U test. The means showed that employees of this institution appeared to be good citizens displaying all five citizenship dimensions. Furthermore, factor analysis results reported the extraction of five components. Thereafter, the Mann-Whitney test revealed that there were no discernible differences between the organisational citizenship behaviour scores of male and female respondents across all dimensions. These findings create an awareness of the importance of organisational citizenship behaviour in higher learning institutions and give managers a better knowledge of these behaviours. This study advocates that leaders should foster a strong organisational culture that promotes the exhibition of these behaviours within the workplace to make it easier for them to offer assistance to students, and colleagues and advance institutions’ goals.

A Conceptual Framework for Mentorship Support to Early-Career Black Women Academics in South Africa A Conceptual Framework for Mentorship Support to Early-Career Black Women Academics in South Africa

Globally, career development is a challenge for women academics at higher education institutions. In South African higher education institutions, Black women academics still lag in terms of career progression and their representation in leadership positions compared to their male counterparts. While structural and systemic challenges contribute to this, a lack of formal mentorship support for Black women academics is among the underlying reasons. Against this background, using various mentorship models applied in higher education institutions as the theoretical lens, this book chapter explores a conceptual framework for mentorship support to early-career Black women academics, which will often happen in a cross-cultural context due to historical imbalances. Through a qualitative research approach, a narrative literature review is provided based on content analysis of literature, both peer-reviewed and non-reviewed. Through a conceptual framework, this chapter provides insight regarding the type of mentorship support that is required to advance the career development trajectory of early-career Black women academics in South Africa, considering the paucity of women’s mentorship programs at most of our higher education institutions. Recommendations propose how mentorships can be integrated into the formal career development trajectory of these academics.

Mentoring as a Form of Transformation in Academia

A considerable amount of literature has established the under-representation of Black women academics in South Africa and abroad. Several factors continue to contribute to the lack of transformation in most institutions of higher learning in the country. Despite this challenge, a number of women have managed to succeed irrespective of the institutional culture and structures of exclusion. This study explored literature on mentoring as a tool for Black African women and underrepresented minority groups within the academic space to enhance diversity, equality, and inclusion. The study has shown the impact of mentorship in giving women an opportunity to grow and advance within the academic space and the importance of representation.

Care and academic work in a pandemic lockdown: a study of women academics in South Africa

The lack of women in leadership across higher education has been problematised in the literature. Often, contemporary discourses promote “fixing the women” as a solution. Consequently, interventions aimed at helping women break through “the glass ceiling” abound. We argue that the gendered power relations at play in universities cause entrenched inequalities to remain in place, regardless of measures implemented for and by women. This article reports on a study of the impact of COVID-19 on 2029 women academics in South Africa. We examine how academic women’s roles as nurturers at home are extended to their roles as carers at work, and how these impact their prospects for career progression. The article further shows how expectations placed on women academics as carers contribute to gendered dimensions of inequality that are detrimental to both their own well-being and careers. Finally, we call on higher education institutions to “fix themselves”, rather than “the women”, if they want to dismantle gender inequalities.

Emotional Wellbeing: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women Academics in South Africa

After the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on 11 March 2020, countries around the world responded with state-mandated lockdowns. Emerging data on the adverse psychological impact of the lockdown shows that women as a whole are among the most vulnerable groups. This study explores the specific stressors manifesting for women academics during lockdown and their toll on emotional wellbeing. A qualitative interpretive analysis of responses from 2,029 women academics showed participants experienced frustration, weariness, anxiety, and being overwhelmed as the result of emotional taxation from three sources: home responsibilities, social milieu, and work environment. The work-life merge that occurred during lockdown seemed to have a concertina effect on emotional wellbeing as participants were pressured to manage an inordinate number of responsibilities at once. The specific consequences of the concertina effect found in this study highlight opportunities for the academy to better support the wellbeing of women academics.

Thriving in the Shadows: Black Men’s Habitus in the Academy

Notwithstanding the recent turn towards research about Black academics in South Africa, the experiences of Black men academics have largely remained out of view. The numerical data suggest that they are better represented and hold a higher proportion of doctorates and seniority when compared to Black women academics. Against this background, this paper sought to understand the experiential accounts of Black men academics in order to apprehend their career journeys with the view towards illuminating their relative advantage over Black women. By conducting a discourse analysis of interviews with 15 Black men academics across three universities, the paper elucidated two significant findings. Despite a history of racialised exclusion of Black men and Black women, relative to reports of discrimination against Black women, Black men academics reported relatively smooth career progression. Secondly, the study found that Black men academics tend to engage in emotionally distant care work with students. The findings suggest that despite the race penalty, the patriarchal habitus of the South African university is an important protective attribute that enables Black men to better navigate their careers relative to Black women. Moreover, the masculine orientation to gendered orders of care work means that Black men are insulated from the emotional struggles of students. This implies that in addition to racially conscious support for Black academics, Black women require greater gender-aware backing and an interrogation of the academic field and habituation demands that result in the unfair distribution of affective care work.

Factors Influencing Web 2.0 Technology Usage Among Academics

The usage of Web 2.0 tools in education affords many benefits, which include increased access to educational resources, and the ability to collaboratively create and use content. Despite the benefits of Web 2.0 tools in higher education, the technology has not been widely used by academics in South Africa. Thus, the purpose of this research is to investigate the extent of usage and the factors that play a role in the usage of Web 2.0 tools among academics at two South African higher education institutions. A case study research strategy was adopted to fulfil the objectives of the study. This paper reports on the quantitative approach used to conduct the study. A questionnaire was administered to collect data from the target population. The results revealed that individual factors, organisational factors, perceived usefulness and perceived quality characteristics are significant predictors to the usage of Web 2.0 tools. The study has practical implications for academic stakeholders in private higher education for the integration of Web 2.0 technology into their teaching practice.

Raciolinguistic ideologies as experienced by racialized academics in South Africa

English remains a language of power in post-apartheid South Africa, providing access to goods, services, social status, and is indexical to White privilege. Raciolinguistic theoretical perspectives postulate that if “standard” English is used by racialized individuals, they are stigmatized as “language deficient’ and have fewer opportunities for inclusion and upward social mobility. In this study we examined the dynamics of raciolinguistic ideology and linguistic inequalities at work. Thematic analysis of interviews with 18 racialized academics produced several themes indicating that these individuals need English to succeed but that they are also marginalized based on how they speak it. We argue that raciolinguistic ideologies in higher education should be addressed to create a more inviting atmosphere for academics of color.

The impact of the pandemic-enforced lockdown on the scholarly productivity of women academics in South Africa

The underrepresentation of women in research is well-documented, in everything from participation and leadership to peer review and publication. Even so, in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, early reports indicated a precipitous decline in women's scholarly productivity (both in time devoted to research and in journal publications) compared to pre-pandemic times. None of these studies, mainly from the Global North, could provide detailed explanations for the scale of this decline in research outcomes. Using a mixed methods research design, we offer the first comprehensive study to shed light on the complex reasons for the decline in research during the pandemic-enforced lockdown among 2,029 women academics drawn from 26 public universities in South Africa. Our study finds that a dramatic increase in teaching and administrative workloads, and the traditional family roles assumed by women while “working from home,” were among the key factors behind the reported decline in research activity among female academics in public universities. In short, teaching and administration effectively displaced research and publication—with serious implications for an already elusive gender equality in research. Finally, the paper offers recommendations that leaders and policy makers can draw on to support women academics and families in higher education during and beyond pandemic times.

Unpacking History, Unpacking Corruption, and Unpacking Media Analysis: Some Recent Books on the South African Media

This article is an extended review essay that maps recent titles written by practising journalists and journalists turned academics in South Africa. The analysis focuses on Gawie Botma’s Race Talk in the South African Media; Lizette Rabe’s A Luta Continua: A History of Media Freedom in South Africa; Glenda Daniels’ Power and Loss in South African Journalism: News in the Age of Social Media; and Anton Harber’s So, for the Record – behind the Headlines in an Era of State Capture. These studies follow earlier analyses, namely: Herman Wasserman’s Media, Geopolitics and Power: A View from the Global South; and Sean Jacobs’ Media in Postapartheid South Africa: Postcolonial Politics in the Age of Globalization. An intersecting track is the journalists’ exposés, such as: Paper Tiger: Iqbal Survé and the Downfall of Independent Newspapers by Alide Dasnois and Chris Whitfield; SABC 1936–1995: Still a Key Player … or an Endangered Species? by Wynand Harmse; The SABC 8 by Foeta Krige; and Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV by Rajesh Sundaram. How each study frames history, the researcher/s’ position and their respective writing styles are discussed. The author argues that academic studies should be read in concert with works written by journalists because abstract frames of reference tend to bracket out the daily nitty-gritty struggles within newsrooms, especially within the current conjecture. In conclusion, the author suggests that whatever the alleged flaws of the “mainstream media” may be, individual journalists (and others) are the ones telling the story behind the story in the slew of books that have been published recently on state and private sector corruption.

Understanding the career trajectories of Black female academics in South Africa

This study seeks to explore the career trajectories of Black South African female academics at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. Their lived experiences continue to include the political vicissitudes of race and gender. Global scholarship on the challenges experienced by Black women in academia is palpable; the South African landscape is distinctive, resultant from the complex intersections of apartheid and the 2004 higher education transformation process. Fourteen in-depth interviews were conducted with Black female academics from five different campuses at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, inviting them to recount their lived experiences as academics. Notable themes that emerged when examining race and gender included: the ‘old boys’ network’, the leadership paradox of feminised leadership versus the ‘queen bee’, as well as the impact of stress. The theoretical framework that underpins this paper is social constructivism with a specific focus on intersectional theory. Intersectional theory will give context to race and gender identity in the experience of the academics. The intersectional experiences are documented by the South African government as legislation[1] addresses disparities that existed during apartheid; nonetheless these intersectional experiences of disadvantage are perpetuated. The dimensions of race and gender play a critical role in academia, while transformational legislation is responsible for facilitating gendered targets. These findings seek to provide a tool of support for Black women, as they continue to be exposed to innumerable challenges including perfunctory appointments, remuneration incongruence, and inconsistencies in the apportionment of research funding. [1]Legislation including Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 designed to encourage racial transformation

South African accounting academics’ conceptualisations of the teaching-research nexus

PurposeAccounting academics in South Africa (SA) have been criticised for their lack of focus on research, stating that their primary responsibility is the teaching of prospective professional accountants. The purpose of this paper is to empirically evaluate the relationship between research and teaching and to consider why accounting academics in SA prioritise teaching over research.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a questionnaire developed in the UK to assess SA accounting academics’ views of the teaching-research nexus. Cluster analysis is undertaken to identify and describe the patterns of responses of respondents.FindingsThe findings identify three clusters. The largest subgroup indicates an equal awareness of both the potential benefits and pitfalls of integrating teaching and research. A second subgroup views teaching and research as symbiotic, while the third subgroup sees the two activities as working against each other and competing for scarce resources. This study finds that conflict exists between professional membership and academic research, and a focus on teaching a professionally orientated accounting curriculum remains dominant in SA.Research limitations/implicationsThe attitudes to teaching and research within SA are likely to be dynamic and subject to change. The findings have implications for the development of accounting academics and potentially, for addressing the gap between accounting research, practice and education.Originality/valueThis research contributes to a significant corpus of work considering the teaching-research nexus and a nascent body of work considering the relationship of research to teaching in accounting. The findings may be of interest to policymakers, practitioners and academics.

The status of electronic teaching within South African LIS Education

PurposeTo determine the perceived self-efficacy of South African LIS academics in e-teaching as a co-requisite to imparting relevant ICT knowledge and skills to LIS students.Design/methodology/approachThe study was underpinned by the pragmatic world view, which allows a researcher to choose a combination of methods, techniques and procedures that best meets the needs and purposes of the study. Based on the purpose and objectives of the study, and the type of data needed, a quantitative approach, employing the descriptive survey design was used. An online questionnaire with both structured and unstructured questions was distributed to 79 LIS academics in 8 universities and attracted a 68.4% response rate. Structured responses were computed directly as quantitative data, while the unstructured answers were aggregated under themes and analysed quantitatively.FindingsThe findings show that LIS academics in South Africa have not been left behind in the trends regarding e-teaching, and most of them feel quite confident about their self-efficacy in e-teaching. A variety of Learning Management Systems and e-tools are in use and relevant policies and technical support available. Most LIS academics, to re-/up-skill themselves, employ diverse heutagogical strategies. However, the e-teaching support in terms of resources and technical support are inadequate because some universities are deficient in their provision of ICTs and e-learning guidelines.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of the study is that this was a time-bound study that focused merely on the basic level investigation A further in-depth probing of the real (as opposed to self) levels of e-teaching efficacy and how heutagogy can be explored or advocated is necessary.Practical implicationsThe implications of the results are that (1) South African LIS academics are well fairly well prepares to face the impact of COVID-19, which has forced universities to turn to virtual/online education (2) Heutagogical approach should be explored as a method of further improving the capabilities of e-teachers, in order to (3) pass forward a positive impact on LIS graduates by preparing them to be agile for a modern work environment. (4) universities have to provide sufficient resources to support academics in their endeavour to continually improve their teaching.Social implicationsTopical in the face of the novel coronavirus.Originality/valueOptimal

The changing demography of academic staff at higher education institutions (HEIs) in South Africa

In this work, we contribute to the debate on the transformation of higher education institutions (HEIs) in post-apartheid South Africa by examining the changing demography of academic staff bodies at 25 South African HEIs from 2005 to 2015. We use empirical data to provide initial insights into the changing racial profiles of academic staff bodies across age, gender and rank and then summarise our findings into a transformation ‘scorecard’ which provides an indication of how all racial groups in the country are performing in terms of their representation in higher education. Initial results indicate that most academics in South Africa are middle-aged (between 35 and 54) but an ageing trend is evident, particularly among white academics. In terms of gender, males marginally outnumber females, although we estimate an equitable distribution to be attained within the next 5 years. Significantly, the data indicate that there is an upwards trajectory of black African academics across all rankings from 2005 to 2015 and a concomitant downward trajectory of white academics across all rankings. Both Indian and coloured academics most closely represent their national population representation. Our transformation ‘scorecard’ indicates that the demography of academic staff at higher education institutions in South Africa is changing and will continue to change in the future, particularly within the next 20 years if current trends continue.

Development of a Parenting Support Program to Prevent Abuse of Adolescents in South Africa

Purpose: Violence against children increases in adolescence, but there is a research and practice gap in research-supported child abuse prevention for the adolescent years. A pilot program for low-resource settings was developed in collaboration with nongovernmental organizations, government, and academics in South Africa, using research-supported principles. Method: This study used a pre-post design to test initial effects of a 10-session parenting program with 60 participants (30 caregiver–adolescent dyads) in high-poverty rural South Africa. Areas requiring further testing and adaptation were also identified. Results: Pre-post findings show medium to large program effects in reducing child abuse and adolescent problem behavior, as well as large effects in improvements of positive parenting, and perceived parent and adolescent social support. Discussion: There is potential to reduce child abuse, improve parenting, and reduce adolescent problem behavior in rural South Africa through parenting programs. Further development, testing and longer term follow-up are required to ascertain potential for scale-up.

The textbook in curriculum development perceptions of students and academics

One of the initiatives that universities worldwide embark on is to investigate students’ dependence on textbooks and the strengthening of professional control and academics’ reliance on textbooks. The purpose of this research was to determine to what extent academics in South Africa use the textbook in curriculum development and teaching as perceived by academics and students. Academics and students from most of the academic institutions in South Africa participated in the survey-based research. The results indicate a strong reliance on the textbook as a teaching resource with limited differences between Unisa (the University of South Africa), as an ODL institution, and the more traditional universities. The research also indicated a strong relationship between the perceptions of academics and students regarding the use and characteristics of textbooks. The results offer a number of proposals for the use and development of textbooks and supporting resources as additional methods to facilitate learning .

Using collaborative learning exercises to transfer pervasive skills: some South African evidence

Globally, academics have adapted their teaching methods to more active methods, such as collaborative learning exercises. Research provides evidence of the value of collaborative learning exercises in the development of pervasive skills. The objective of this paper is to examine the use of collaborative learning exercises by academics in South Africa (SA) – a developing country – and to obtain their views on the effectiveness of this method in transferring pervasive skills to students. An electronically administered questionnaire was sent to accounting academics working at universities accredited by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. The findings of this paper reveal a gap between the use of collaborative learning exercises by SA academics compared to that globally. This gap can be attributed to a lack of awareness by SA academics of the competencies that can be developed using collaborative learning exercises, or the application of alternative teaching methods.

Local villages and global networks: the language and migration experiences of African skilled migrant academics

African skilled migrants and their circular and return migration strategies have received relatively little attention in the literature, with the previous focus of much African migration literature being on the net loss of skills to countries with developed economies in the global north. This article considers 13 interviews with African skilled migrant academics on topics of migration, networks and language resources. The majority of the participants migrated to major receiving countries and then returned to the African continent to take up employment as academics in South Africa. In the migration trajectories of these African academics, their language expertise, specifically in English as the current global language of academia, is central to their strategies and migrant routes. It emerges that the paths of migration from their home countries (Zambia, Malawi, Nigeria, Ghana, DRC, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe) are connected to language, resources and networks. African skilled migrant academics are caught, physically and metaphorically between the local, linked to the concept of village, and the global, linked to the concept of network in Castells' terms. In language terms, this implies particular responsibilities for home languages on the one hand and English as a transnational language on the other hand.

STATUS OF RESEARCH-RELATED ACTIVITIES OFSOUTH AFRICA’S UNIVERSITY NURSING SCHOOLS

The development of research programmes is a relatively novel phenomenon amongst nurse researchers in developing countries. Academics and researchers are faced with the demands for postgraduate and publication outputs, but with little or no support. In South Africa, benchmarks have been set for expected research outputs per university and per academic. However, nursing schools are finding it a challenge to meet these targets. This chapter provides an overview of the status of nursing research in South Africa and determines the overall research outputs for the various South African nursing schools. The data was collected through a structured self-administered questionnaire. The survey was distributed to all 22 university nursing schools in South Africa of which 17 completed surveys were returned (77% response rate). The nursing dean was expected to verify all information submitted. Data collected reflects the years 2008-2010. Only 23.54% of nurse academics in South Africa have doctoral degrees impacting on the throughput rates of doctoral and master’s degree students. There are high intakes for doctoral and master’s degree programmes with limited availability of research supervisors. The results also revealed that almost half (46%) of the academics employed at nursing schools are employed in a full-time contract position. In South Africa, each year 4.7 articles per nursing school per year are published in accredited journals. It is evident from the results that there is an increase in the output of publications and funding for research, but that the output rate of postgraduate students has shown nominal improvement, especially regarding doctorates. Problems affecting research outputs included writing challenges, a lack of stability or constant change in management in many nursing schools, as well as a shortage of experienced supervisors. Unrealistic workloads were also singled out as challenges that impact on research outputs. However, support programmes have been established to support researchers, and this seems to have had a positive impact.

Exploring gender and race amongst female sociologists exiting academia in South Africa

This article explores issues of gender and race in the academic careers of female sociologists in South Africa by focusing on selected women who left academic departments in higher education institutions. In-depth interviews were conducted with 11 participants who left various Sociology departments at different times. It was found that young black female academics dwelled on issues of race in their careers, but paid scant attention to gender. Older white female academics, especially those who had been in senior positions, focused on gender issues, with only brief comments on racial issues. It is argued that racial challenges overshadow gender challenges for black female academics in South Africa and that gender discrimination is only experienced once women reach more senior academic positions. A minority status in academic departments contributes to experiences of racial or gender discrimination, although demographic changes within departments do not necessarily lead to the eradication thereof.