The University of South Africa (Unisa) 1918–1948: the first transition, from colonial to segregationist institution

Manson, Andrew

doi:10.1080/17532523.2016.1230308

“…The early pioneers of correspondence education were concerned with making educational opportunities accessible to a wider audience. The first higher education institution to provide education at a scale was the external study system of the University of London in 1858 (Manson, 2016;Tait, 2008). From there, other European countries started to provide higher education using correspondence mode.…”

Section: Context Of African Open Distance Education Institutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By so doing, according to Tait (2008), "the mission of international distance education was born" (p. 86). In South Africa, the University of the Cape of Good Hope, the predecessor of the University of South Africa, was established in 1873, with the sole purpose of being an examining centre for Cambridge and Oxford Universities (Manson, 2016). In other parts of the continent, correspondence education was provided by commercial correspondence colleges to provide programmes meant to develop skills for colonial administrators (Biao, 2012).…”

Section: Context Of African Open Distance Education Institutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextual Content Analysis of Mission Statements of Open and Distance Education Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Makoe

¹

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The aim of this study is to evaluate the extent to which open, and distance education universities are fulfilling their stated purpose as higher education institutions in Sub-Saharan countries. The starting point of understanding the purpose of an institutions is to analyse the content of mission statements and the context in which the universities operate. The content of the mission statements of the six selected open and distance universities from Sub-Saharan countries were analysed using contextual content analysis. The role of mission statements is to communicate the purpose of the institution to stakeholders. Although most open and distance universities mentioned some of the principles of openness, many mission statements were silent on access, equity and student-centredness. The findings revealed that there is misalignment between what the university claims to do and their practice. This shows that these institutions did not consider the open and distance education principles and context when developing mission statements. Makoe

show abstract

Resilient Leadership in Time of Crisis in Distance Education Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Makoe

¹

2022

Handbook of Open, Distance and Digital Education

1

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As leaders of distance education in sub-Saharan Africa were dealing with myriad challenges of high numbers of young people seeking access to higher education, lack of technologies, and inadequate expertise for online teaching, Covid-19 pandemic emerged, and, almost overnight, quick decisions had to be made to pivot to online spaces to ensure that learning occurred even in the midst of the crisis. Leaders who were flexible and adaptive to changing environment were able to respond effectively to this crisis. Hence the focus of the study is on the character of a distance education leader who is exhibiting personality traits that will enable him or her to move a distance education institution forward.The futures triangle was used to contextualize and historicize the character of a leader who has the ability to be innovative and willing to take risks in the face of crisis. The aim of this chapter is to illustrate how some historical factors have not only influenced the leadership practices in distance education, but they have molded the characters of distance education leaders. The futures triangle mapping process revealed that the legacy of colonialism, the lack of managerial skills, the slow adoption of using technologies, the growing number of people who cannot be accommodated in higher education, and, most recently, the Covid-19 pandemic were drivers of change that illustrated how leaders responded in time of crisis. Moving distance education forward requires resilient leaders who are agile and adaptable to lead in an open and technology-rich distance education environment.

show abstract

Resilient Leadership in Time of Crisis in Distance Education Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Makoe

¹

2023

Handbook of Open, Distance and Digital Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As leaders of distance education in sub-Saharan Africa were dealing with myriad challenges of high numbers of young people seeking access to higher education, lack of technologies, and inadequate expertise for online teaching, Covid-19 pandemic emerged, and, almost overnight, quick decisions had to be made to pivot to online spaces to ensure that learning occurred even in the midst of the crisis. Leaders who were flexible and adaptive to changing environment were able to respond effectively to this crisis. Hence the focus of the study is on the character of a distance education leader who is exhibiting personality traits that will enable him or her to move a distance education institution forward.The futures triangle was used to contextualize and historicize the character of a leader who has the ability to be innovative and willing to take risks in the face of crisis. The aim of this chapter is to illustrate how some historical factors have not only influenced the leadership practices in distance education, but they have molded the characters of distance education leaders. The futures triangle mapping process revealed that the legacy of colonialism, the lack of managerial skills, the slow adoption of using technologies, the growing number of people who cannot be accommodated in higher education, and, most recently, the Covid-19 pandemic were drivers of change that illustrated how leaders responded in time of crisis. Moving distance education forward requires resilient leaders who are agile and adaptable to lead in an open and technology-rich distance education environment.

show abstract

The University of South Africa (Unisa) 1918–1948: the first transition, from colonial to segregationist institution

Cited by 4 publications

References 2 publications

Contextual Content Analysis of Mission Statements of Open and Distance Education Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Contextual Content Analysis of Mission Statements of Open and Distance Education Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Resilient Leadership in Time of Crisis in Distance Education Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Resilient Leadership in Time of Crisis in Distance Education Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About