One of the necessary initiatives to promote the shift was the restructuring of the higher education system. Several key themes emerge in the discussion of some of the goals of higher education transformation outlined above.
Modularity and credit in higher education in Britain and the United States of America
The evolution of the US higher education system is discussed in more detail in Chapter 2. Many of the policy objectives identified for higher education in South Africa resonate with those in Britain.
The rationale for this study
Intertwined with the influence of policy decisions, a dramatic change occurred in the landscape of the higher education system in Britain when the former colleges were granted university status in 1992. One of the crucial considerations to be made are the values and beliefs that underpin the modular building process.
The pressure for change
The chapter concluded with a brief exploration of some of the pressures for change in education. These ideas are expanded further in Chapter 4 through an explanation of their application in the context of the study which was carried out in five 'new' universities in Britain.
Literature Review
Introduction
This commission played a major formative role in the massive expansion and restructuring of the higher education sector. Many of the new (post-Robbins) universities embraced course 'unity', delayed specialization and greater curricular breadth, at least in the initial stages of a degree course (Jackson and Gregg, 1995).
The purpose, concepts, principles and good practice of modularity
The focus in the next section shifts to the complexity of the concept of modularity. In the following section, each of these three levels will be addressed in turn, beginning with the development of the modular system.
Student and staff attitudes
Almost all comments related to the programme's delivery, rather than its content: while students undoubtedly appreciated the flexibility and freedom of the modular course, questionnaire responses indicated significant weaknesses (Harop and Woodcock, 1992: 89). He comments that in discussions with students the area that generated the 'most exciting responses' was the issue of bureaucracy and the complexity of the modular scheme. One of the most interesting issues to be raised by students in both studies was that of positive and negative social aspects.
Indeed, one respondent to the study thought the modular scheme was "socially divisive!" (Hemmington, 1995: 34). In Hemmington's study, despite criticism, 31 of the 32 students surveyed favored the modular approach.
Summary of the main points
Trowler explains that for academics in the 'swimming' category, changes in the higher education environment such as expansion and modularity enable them to thrive in different ways, regardless of administrative consequences and other problems. Compared to the US, the evolution of higher education in Britain was very slow, with the establishment of the 'old' universities taking several hundred years and the establishment of the 'new' ones occurring in the latter part of the twentieth century. The change from a low-participation elite to a high-participation mass system only began in the late 1980s (Jackson, 1997).
Changes in the post-16 school and education sectors affected higher education, not least as students became more familiar with a modular curriculum and awards based on modules or units. Unlike their counterparts in the US, who unquestioningly accept the modular system, it is clear that British students can detect disadvantages of modularity.
Research Methodology
Introduction
Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to discuss some of the relevant differences between the paradigms of inquiry. Against this background, the decisions made in carrying out this study are discussed in chapter 4. In the first section of this chapter, the many research paradigms and their characteristics are briefly compared.
This is followed by a brief discussion of reliability, validity, triangulation, and ethics in quantitative and qualitative studies. A discussion of how these theories informed the design and practical conduct of this study as a small-scale survey to collect qualitative data is provided in Chapter 4.
Perspectives on research paradigms and methodologies
Certain conclusions can be drawn from the sample about the characteristics of the population (Best and Kahn, 1986: 12). First, the style or scope of the study can affect the sample size. When using open or closed questions, there are important factors to consider when designing the questionnaire.
The design and administration of the questionnaire used in this study are discussed in Chapter 4. A brief overview of some of the relevant features of the interview is provided in the next section.
Summary
Conduct of the Study
- Introduction
- Design of the study
- Selection of respondents
- Data collection
- Analysis of the data
- Summary
Third, the issue of access did not have any impact on the conduct of the study. As a 'novice' in qualitative research, conducting the interviews seemed quite daunting at first. During the process of transcription and analysis of the data, the potential pitfalls described in the literature took on new meaning.
Participants in the study at each of the universities were generous in contributing documentary data. In this way, as explained in Chapter 3, the documentary evidence contributed to the validity of the data.
Analysis of the Data
A summary of the key issues to emerge from the data gathered from respondents
This data is discussed from the three main perspectives of: the concept of a curriculum framework (HEQC, 1997);. But, at the risk of generalisation, each of the five universities can be described as 'strong' schemes. Each of the universities seems to have adopted a 'mixed economy approach'.
Independent programs - not part of the generally available series of approved programs, but with a coherent theme reflected in the title. As mentioned earlier at the University of the West of England, the full-time academic year was based on 1080 hours, with three modules per semester.
Emergent themes and implications for M L Sultan Technikon
Introduction
Emergent themes
The majority of respondents in this study felt that their conceptualization of modularization had not changed. The question posed in the section above, which approach will be taken in the process of modularization, leads to a consideration of the different options that an institution could select. Another important aspect of the modularity process that emerged was whether or not the change had been imposed from above.
One of the main problems during implementation was that, for some reason, time had been a limiting factor. However, in the process of conducting the study a sense of the complexity and interconnected nature of the issues became compelling.
Knowledge, academic disciplines and curriculum change
One of the potential consequences of a lack of integrity regarding the reasons for going modular is the tensions created between an educational and a managerial rationale. They may seem to produce a fragmentation of the learning experience, a purposeful separation (Barnett, 1994), which raises awkward questions about the maintenance of intellectual quality. The strong message that emerges is that an institution must be aware of the potential tensions and must encourage open and constructive debate around the issues of 'knowledge' and academic 'disciplines'.
According to Jackson (1996b: 112), the shape of the learning curve will vary according to the: lead in time (typically one to two years); the implementation strategy adopted by the institution (typically all provision modularized within one to three years); and the time the learning cultures take to adapt. From decision to finish we did it in a year and most of the work was done after Easter.
Implications
You have to] carry the staff with you, have to believe it's the right thing to do. I feel by doing something on a small scale, but nevertheless a serious scale, as a pilot, you would have gotten enough of the bad things out of the system without making staff so disillusioned with the way it was done . It means that you can look positively at a significant group of staff over a period of time and tell them that they're going to make a whole lot of mistakes, but [the] whole point of the process is to get a pilot and things better for the next phase, then it will be much more of a positive experience.
It has been consistently stated that the purpose of this study was not to seek a blueprint for modularization. The next section discusses the relevance of this study to ML Sultan Technikon in particular, and the Technikon sector in general.
Implications for M L Sultan Technikon
These simple questions are obviously very complex in reality, and some of the complexities and implications of making different choices are highlighted in this study. The destination of the trajectory represents the achievement of a number of goals that, undoubtedly, when combined, achieve change. In other words, the trajectory leads to the achievement of the national goals and imperatives for higher education in South Africa outlined in Chapter 1.
Promoting the values and qualities of what Schwahn and Spady have called the 'Total Leader' can be an important factor in achieving this position on the field. The sentiments expressed in the extract above were echoed by several of the respondents in this study.
Postscript
- Student counselling and guidance
- Administration
- Semesterisation
- Making Changes: the importance of Quality Assurance
One of the incentives identified was a shift towards criterion-referenced (rather than norm-referenced) learning outcomes and assessment in modules (Davidson, 1992; Tait, 1994). One of the potential advantages for students that was mentioned by respondents in this study was greater transparency of assessment expectations through information provided in the module descriptor. Semesterization of the academic year was an issue of particular concern in higher education in Britain.
One of the aspects that stood out in discussions with respondents was the importance of receiving regular feedback from students. This postscript has attempted to give a flavor to some of the broader issues and considerations relating to the development and implementation of credit.
Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) (1990) The Modular Option. 1993) 'Implementing the Modularization Process in Higher Education: Some Transnational Issues.' Quarterly for higher education. Higher Education Quality Council (HEQC) (1995b) Towards a better understanding of the importance of academic standards in modular degrees:. 1996c) 'Towards a better understanding of the meaning of level' in UK modular higher education in focus.
1997) 'The evolution of quality assurance in higher education in the UK and beyond: creating a regulatory framework for a mass system.'
