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ACADEMIC STAFF DEVELOPMENT NEEDS AT A SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTION
OF
HIGHER EDUCATION
by
VALENCIA TSHINOMPHENI MABALANE
Research Essay
submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
MAGISTER EDUCATIONIS
in
ADULT EDUCATION AND TRAINING
in the
FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND NURSING
at
RAND AFRIKAANS UNIVERSITY
SUPERVISOR: MRS NF PETERSEN
CO-SUPERVISOR: PROF. S.J GRAVETT
MAY 2001
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank God for giving me the strength and wisdom, and for guiding me
throughout my studies.
My sincere appreciation and thanks go to:
Vista university (Soweto campus education department) for allowing me to carry out
this research in the institution. And the participants who made this study a success
through contribution of their valuable experiences.
My supervisor, Mrs NF Petersen and co-supervisor, Prof. SJ Gravett for their continued
support and dedication. And for their proper guidance.
My colleagues at Vista university Soweto campus education department, especially the
following: Mrs SS Mohope, my sub-head, for her continued support and for
always listening to my problems.
Mrs GM Moletsane, who is my source of inspiration, and always saw
ability and potential in me.
Mrs LP Mthembu, my mentor and friend.
Mrs N Badat and Dr BV Nduna for their moral support.
Ms L Kganyago and Mrs L Gwala for helping me with typing.
My ailing mother Ms JN Nthangeni and my sister, who made this opportunity possible for
me, and instilled in me the will to learn.
My wonderful three children, Rorisang, Gaositwe and Bontle for understanding when I
needed time to study and for being there for me.
My loving husband, who bore the brunt of my studies but showed unwavering support
and love throughout my studies.
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
TITLE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii
ABSTRACT v
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM 2
3. AIM OF THE STUDY 3
4. ASSUMPTION AND PRESUPPOSITIONS 3
5. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 3
5.1 Introduction 3
5.2 Definition of academic staff development 4
5.3 The focus and purpose of staff development in higher education 5
5.4 Strategies for academic staff development 7
5.5 Definition of needs assessment 8
5.6 Purpose needs assessment 12
5.7 Steps, procedures and methods of conducting needs assessment 17
5.8 Conclusion 19
6. RESEARCH STRATEGY AND METHODS 20
6.1 Orientation/ Approach 20
6.2 Sampling 21
6.2.1 Context of Data Collection 22
6.3 Data collection method 22
6.4 Data analysis 24
6.5 Trustworthiness: Validity and Reliability 24
iii
6.6 Ethical consideration 26
PRESENTATION OF DATA AND ANALYSIS
26
7.1 Coding of data 27
7.2 Unitising of the data 27
7.2.1 Example of some identified categories 27
7.3 Discovery Process 28
FINDINGS 31
8.1 Introduction 31
8.1.1 A table indicating categories, sub-categories and outcome statements 31
8.2 Discussion of findings 32
8.2.1 Need for continuous staff development 32
8.2.2 The importance of conducting needs assessment 34
8.2.3 Need for acquisition of skills for research and academic writing 36
8.2.4 Availability of funds for staff development programmes 40
8.3 Summary 42
OVERVIEW AND CONCLUSION 42
42
RECOMMENDATION 43
LIST OF REFERENCES 46
APPENDICES 49
APPENDIX A Letter of permission to conduct interviews 49
APPENDIX B Letter of consent 50
APPENDIX C Interview transcripts 51
iv
ABSTRACT
Academic staff development is seen as a vehicle of empowerment that focuses on assisting
individual members of staff to acquire knowledge, understanding and skills needed to teach
effectively. A great number of South African Higher Education institutions have made
inroads and advances with regard to academic staff development programmes. However
many such programmes are usually general to all staff members including administrators
and professionals and do not address the specific needs of academics. Managers often plan
these programmes without consulting the envisaged participants or conducting any needs
assessment despite the literature on academic staff development emphasising the importance
of conducting a proper needs assessment. As a result academic staff members in these
institutions still feel left behind when it comes to academic issues affecting them directly,
such as an absence of continuous staff development and the development of their research
and academic writing skills. Many academics feel that such programmes are irrelevant and
boring and do not attend.
Based on the above the aim of this study was to explore the needs of academics within the
Education Department of Vista University Soweto Campus in order to arrive at an informed
understanding of such needs for the purpose of informing future academic staff development
programme planning. For the purposes of this study qualitative research was conducted
using semi-structured interviews with a purposefully selected sample of eleven academics
within the Education Department in order to ascertain their academic staff development
needs. Data were analysed using the constant comparative method.
The findings of the research reveal that the majority of the academics were dissatisfied
about the manner in which academic staff development activities are planned and
conducted. Among the factors mentioned, the following feature prominently: the need for
continuous staff development; the necessity of conducting a proper needs assessment prior
to planning academic staff developmental programmes, the needs of the academics in
acquiring the skills for research and academic writing, and the availability of more funding
for staff development activities. This report concludes with a number of recommendations
for planning with regard to academic staff development programmes.
1. INTRODUCTION
The literature on academic staff development emphasizes among other things the importance of
conducting a needs assessment before planning any developmental programs. For example,
Bourque (1994: 4056-4058) defines needs assessment as "an information-gathering and analysis
process which results in the identification of the needs of individuals, groups, institutions,
communities, or societies. In education,...has been to identify the needs of students for
instruction in a given subject area; to determine in students' overall achievement; to determine
the needs of the teacher for additional training;...it is the intent of needs assessment to identify
areas in which deficits exist, desired performance has not been attained, or problems may be
expected in the future. The results of needs assessment are then used for further action such as
planning re-mediation to improve the situation". Despite this there are still institutions that
believe that staff development is the sole responsibility of the Deans and Heads of Departments
or the institution managers. They assume to know the needs of each individual academic, even
without conducting a need assessment. As a result the ensuing developmental programs are
planned by managers, and are imposed on staff members. Academics then attend those imposed
programs to satisfy the institution. In some instances, academics refuse to attend because they
see them as irrelevant to their developmental needs.
Adults come to any form of learning or developmental programme to address their immediate
needs that have to do with their everyday life or work and they usually reject any kind of
intervention that they perceive as undermining their needs. I also believe that planning
developmental programmes have to be a negotiated effort between the academics and the
management. This means that to ensure participation and acceptance by academic staff, staff
developers must consider the developmental needs of academics. Thus I argue that before any
developmental programme is planned, a thorough needs assessment, which in my view forms
the core of any programme, has to be conducted to bring changes in the institution and to
promote academic excellence. Based on the above, this study will focus on the developmental
needs of academics. Firstly, I will commence by stating the problem, followed by the aim of
study, assumption and presuppositions and then the literature review. Thereafter, the research
strategy and methodology employed will be described, and the next section to be discussed will
be the presentation of data and the findings. Finally, I will state my recommendations.
1
1. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Academic staff development has existed in South African higher education since the
early 1980s and is well established like in other parts of the world. This is also the
case at the university at which I am employed, namely Vista University (Soweto), which also
makes use of academic staff development programmes. Research into academic staff
development at a number of institutions of higher education, from the South African
Association of Academic Development conducted by Moyo, Donn and Hounsell (1997),
reveals that staff development programmes which are successful are those which conducted
needs analyses and were relevant to the everyday needs and professional concerns of the
academics. Those programmes that were least successful were those in which consultation was
not done, and those which were not directly relevant to the developmental needs of the staff.
In my experience as a teaching media specialist for nine years in the Education Department at
Vista University (Soweto), I have seen staff development programs planned by the Human
Resource Department or Faculty Deans without any consultation with the academic staff. The
staff developmental programs conducted were general to all staff members at the campus,
including administrators, professionals and service workers. The majority of academics,
including those from the Education Department did not attend these programs, as they felt that
these training programs addressed general needs instead of their specific teaching and academic
needs. As a result, these staff development programmes did not appear to bring about any
positive, visible changes to either employees or the institution. It is furthermore my view that a
thorough needs analysis should be the basis for planning and developing successful staff
development programmes.
Based on the above background the research question guiding this research was formulated as
follows:
What are the developmental needs of academics in the Education Department at Vista
University Soweto Campus?
2
AIM OF STUDY
In view of the above-mentioned statement of a problem, the aim and purpose of this study were
to explore the needs of academics within the Education department in order to arrive at an
informed understanding of such needs for the purpose of informing future academic
developmental programme planning.
ASSUMPTIONS AND PRESUPPOSITIONS
Prior to doing this study I believed that many academics did not attend staff development
programmes because the programmes were not adequately planned. I also believed that they
did not attend because the programmes clashed with their needs, or did not address their needs.
These assumptions were grounded on my personal experiences, where I saw academics failing
to attend the developmental programmes such as conferences, workshops or any kind of
developmental activity. At other times they attended to please their superiors or because
attendance was compulsory and thereafter there would not be any tangible change with regard
to their academic work.
LITERATURE REVIEW
5.1 Introduction
"A program that for which no need or market exists fails to attract an audience
and results in frustration, wasted resources, and financial loss for the continuing
educator ...Information about potential program participants is always useful in
planning programs that will be offered either to the general public or to specific
segment of the population. Continuing educators must depend on data in order
to serve a specific audience completely. Employees' strengths, weaknesses,
skills, educational and occupational experiences, preferred learning styles, and
current job requirements - all factors that can be documented through
assessment - are important in educational design and delivery. Frequently
employee's expectations and attitudes must be weighed against those of their
employers" (Queeny, 1995: 15).
3
Based on the above quotation, the purpose of this research report is to explore the
developmental needs of academics in a department at an institution of higher education in order
to arrive at an informed understanding of such needs, for the purpose of informing future
academic developmental programme planning. Thus, I have consulted literature in the field of
higher education and adult learning, staff development, needs assessment and other relevant
sources, like programme planning.
My argument expands on the views expressed in the above quotation, that one must have
sufficient and exact information about the needs of the participants in order to plan a proper
programme for them. I argue that a needs assessment forms the core of any programme
planning and I believe that before any staff development programme can be planned for
academics, a thorough needs assessment has to be conducted and the affected stakeholders
consulted. The implication here is that the needs of the targeted participants have to be known
by the planners before any developmental programme can be planned.
Thus this literature review will look at the various perspectives on academic staff development
and the role of a need assessment as reflected in current literature. The first part of this
literature review will look at the definition of academic staff development. Thereafter, an
exposition of the background to staff development will follow, then I will look at the focus and
purpose of staff development. This will be followed by, different strategies of academic staff
development. And lastly, I will discuss the purpose of needs assessment. And I will conclude
with, the steps, procedures and methods of conducting needs assessment.
5.2 Definition of academic staff development
According to Chalam (1991:4), staff development is by no means a narrowly defined concept
and criticisms of the lack of systematisation may well emanate from the nature of the definitions
that have been offered. Thus there are different definitions of what staff development really is.
Different authors define it in a manner that suits their circumstances and according to their
philosophical perspective. Webb (1996:1) argues that staff development is considered to
include the institutional policies, programmes and procedures which facilitate and support staff
so that they may fully serve their own and their institution needs.
4
According to Moyo et. al (1997:17-18), academic staff development is the empowerment that
focuses on assisting individual members of staff to acquire and enhance the knowledge,
understanding and skills needed to teach effectively. This definition is developed further by
Adams and Battersby (in Chalam, 1991:17-18), as "a provision of the means for the
development of individual competency in academic knowledge and understanding, research
skills, procedures, design and application, teaching; and administration; serving the
community". Furthermore, Zuber-Skerritt (1992:145), equate academic staff development to
professional development and perceive them as one and the same thing. Zuber-Skerritt defines it
as the development, self- development and institutional management of faculty or academic
staff at all levels with reference to their activities and responsibilities as teachers and managers
in higher education (Hay & Buchner, 1999:113). Based on the above, I will coin the definition
of academic staff development as those activities implemented to enhance the skills of
academics and helping them to acquire those skills they do not possess and to add more to or
nourish those they possess.
5.3 The focus and purpose of staff development in higher education
The activities in academic staff development vary considerably according to institutions.
Different institutions and academic faculties or departments have different developmental
needs. Murphy (in Prior, 1986:7) has surveyed and analysed the functions of staff development
units and found that the focus is different from situation to situation, although he maintained
that most units' central focus is on the improvement of teaching and learning. Other principal
functions include audio-visual services, curriculum development, development of general staff,
dissemination of research information, education management, and research facilities. Thus,
this implies that every institution must know the developmental needs of its academics in
accordance with their field of speciality before any developmental programme is planned.
Some institutions use staff development to induct new academic staff. However, due to
mounting pressures for accountability in higher education sectors, drastic changes occurring in
respect of staff development, and the demand that the focus become more inclusive of other
aspects such as modularization and faculty restructuring, all institutions are faced with the task
of including more staff developmental activities (Prior, 1986:48; Webb, 1996:2; Zuber-Skerritt,
1992:168: Moyo et. al, 1997:17).
5
As Prior (1986: 46) and Kapp and Cilliers (1998:118) argue, this is due to the national
transformation and reconstruction of higher education. These factors put profound pressure on
the skills of academics, and necessitated more activity in the field of academic staff
development (Kapp & Cilliers 1998:118). The implication for academics here is that they have
to be equipped with skills that will make them meet these demands and become better
academics.
As the student population changes and diversifies, and curricula are structured using the
principles of outcomes-based education, distance education and reliance on resource-based
learning are increased, there is a need for academics to become familiar with new approaches.
Institutions will have to provide sufficient training to employed academic staff members and
provide continuous professional development programmes to empower academic staff to ensure
that they are able to adapt to changes (Moyo et. al, 1997:6; Hay & Buchner, 1999:113).
Other aspects that put pressure on higher education, are the needed new research agendas and
new learning programmes to mobilise the cultural, social and economic potential of the country.
Furthermore higher education is also experiencing more pressure to change due to the rapid
world-wide development of the 'leaning society' — which is referred to as "the proliferation of
knowledge and information in the contemporary world" (National Commission on Higher
Education, 1996: 2-3). This learning society puts more demands on higher education to
encourage lifelong and continuing education. Higher education is also faced with the reality of
multiform and accelerating changes in culture, communications, and production changes —
meaning globalization, which they have to keep abreast with. And, lastly staff development
should focus on enterprise skills, essential to planning, management and review of projects to
help keep academics abreast with managing and planning their work professionallS , (Zuber-
Skerritt, 1992:214; National Commission on Higher Education, 1996: 2-3).
The implication of the above is that the staff development focus is compelled to change to
accommodate these new national pressures and demands. These changes as put by Zuber-
Skerritt (1992:208), have to take place in three major areas which are organisational culture,
learning and teaching, and research. Academics have to manage students learning and their
own, manage faculties, departments and at times budgets. This means that academic
developmental programmes have to focus on the management and facilitation of such skills.
6
As lecturers' roles shift from that of the instructor to facilitator, the attainment of skills,
attitudes and outcomes is very important to empower them to do their work properly (Hay &
Buchner, 1999:113).
5.4 Strategies for academic staff development
Various strategies or methods are employed and used for academic staff development and they
thus bear different results. The strategies employed differ from situation to situation. To
substantiate the above statement I will discuss two contrasting strategies as described by Adam
and Battersby (in Chalam, 1991:18) which are: top-down wherein the authority within the
institution makes the sole decision regarding developmental programmes on behalf of
academics. A top-down approach is characterised by planning the developmental programmes
without any consultation with envisaged participants. This is when institution managers and
faculty managers assume that they know what subordinates need. They assume that they know
the developmental needs of all academics and forcefully implement their assumptions without
any consultation. For example, management, heads of departments and deans take decisions on
behalf of their subordinates on the assumption that they are more knowledgeable than they are
when it comes to academics matters. They then plan a developmental programme without
consultation. Usually, academics find these kinds of programmes to be a waste of time or
irrelevant because they do not address their immediate needs.
According to Gravett (1997:12) and Rogers (1996: 66), adults come to learning to address their
immediate and everyday needs they respond to learning that addresses their needs. Thus, if they
perceive any learning programme or activity as undermining their needs they will reject it. The
implication here is that any learning programme planned for all adult learners, in this case
academics, should take their immediate, occupational and developmental needs into
consideration. Most academics are adults by nature and they have diversified needs that must
be recognised and addressed when any programme is planned for them. According to The
Education White Paper 3 (1997:3), one of the purposes of higher education is to address the
learning needs and aspirations of individuals (including academics) through the development of
their intellectual abilities and aptitudes throughout their lives. In other words the planning of
programmes must be informed by the needs of academics, that is a bottom-up approach has to
be adopted.
7
In contrast, a bottom-up strategy respects, considers and encourages staff to air their
developmental needs. The academics are given a chance to state where they think they lack
skills to do their work and what kind of difficulties they experience in their profession.
According to Adam and Battersby (in Chalam, 1991:18), this strategy adopts a needs
assessment as its point of departure. A needs assessment is first carried out for a given
department or faculty on a systematic basis, with appropriate general programmes following.
Then, thereafter, the planning of a programme will be done against the backdrop of assessed
needs.
As said above, academics do not readily respond to the opportunity to undergo staff
development unless they have an identifiable need, unless the form and content of instruction is
acceptable and unless the legitimacy of the instructors is established (Chalam, 1991:18). I
endorse this approach because it takes into consideration the principles of adult learning. This
approach acknowledges the needs and experiences of adults who in this case are academics. It
further gives academics the opportunity to contribute in the planning of their developmental
programmes and in their learning activities. To substantiate this argument I will next discuss
needs assessment as the core of any learning or developmental programme. Thus the next
section will look at what needs assessment are and how they inform this study.
5.5 Definition of needs assessment
A needs assessment, like staff development has many definitions. There is a broad definition
that describes needs assessment "as a systematic set of procedures undertaken for the purpose of
setting priorities and making decisions about a program or organisational improvement and
allocation of resources" (Witkin & Altschuld, 1995:4). The priorities are based on identified
needs. And this broad definition starts by giving the meaning of a "need", which is perceived
as a discrepancy or a gap between " what is" or the present situation in regard to the group
situation of interest, and "what should be" or a desired situation. Kaufman (in Witkin &
Altschuld, 1995:4), emphasises that a need is the discrepancy between current and desired
results or consequences.
8
Soriano (1995: 3), sees needs as " discrepancies between an actual condition or state and a
desired standard". She continues to state that the standard varies according to the purpose for
which needs are being defined, the circumstances, and the person defining them. Furthermore,
she states that the standard of need in one situation might be of low standard and value at
another level. She differentiates between needs, wants and demands. To her wants imply
interest and perhaps motivation but do not reflect a discrepancy. Demands on the other hand
suggest a willingness to commit resources to obtain education that address a given situation.
She sees needs, wants, demands each having a valid place in planning continuing education and
training activities, and that each is identifiable through assessment.
There are needs that are educational in nature that can be addressed through educational
interventions alone. At the same time there are those needs that have to be addressed through
educational interventions in conjunction with practice settings, resources limitations, and
personal characteristics. There are occasions when a need may reflect a want or a demand.
Educational needs assessment usually overlap into wants and demands.
Queeney (1995: 82), defines different types of needs which all emanate from social needs,
which are normative, comparative, felt and expressed. These needs are defined in terms of
several characteristics that can be best explained by a series of mutually exclusive pairs. Within
each pair of descriptors, a need can be of one type or the other but not both. A need may also
possess a single characteristic from a number of pairs or even all of the pairs. Clarification of
type of need helps the assessors to come to grips with the kinds of needs they are dealing with,
and the implications of those needs. It also assists in increasing the likelihood that an
assessment will generate data that will enable asssessors to make good programme planning
decisions. These types of needs are: perceived versus assessed needs, felt versus expressed
needs, normative versus comparative needs, discrepancy versus maintenance needs, current
versus anticipation needs.
Perceived needs are described as "those needs that individuals believe they have, and
assessed needs are identified through structured assessment process" (Queeney, 1995:
82). This pair of needs is viewed as being the most significant to needs assessment. The
difference that exists between needs individuals perceive they have and those identified
through assessment helps in enhancing the role of needs assessment (Queeney, 1995: 83).
9
The next pair is, felt versus expressed needs, which has to do with one's ability to acknowledge
educational needs. Felt needs are needs that individuals are aware of but do not communicate.
They usually exist when individuals do not want to recognise their educational needs.
Expressed needs are those that are recognised and articulated by individuals. The expressed
needs are usually attended to after they have been articulated (Queeney, 1995: 83-84).
The third pair is normative versus comparative needs, it has to do with the defining standards
for acceptable levels of knowledge, skill, or performance abilities. Needs exist when an
assessment reveals discrepancies between acceptable levels and the knowledge, skills, or
performance abilities demonstrated. Normative needs describe deficiencies between those
standards and assessed levels. Comparative needs are recognised when certain individuals or
groups do not attain the levels of other individuals or groups (Queeney, 1995:84). Discrepancy
versus maintenance needs, on the other hand, has to do with the discrepancies found between
standards that have been established and actual performance. These reflect the difference
between "what is" and "what should be", discrepancies that point to areas of educational need.
But other needs are for maintenance of existing levels of knowledge, skills, and performances
abilities (Queeney, 1995:85).
The last pair is current versus anticipated needs, which are needs that people want to deal with
immediately so that they can handle responsibility effectively. They have to do with needs
related to their ongoing life and activities. Anticipated needs occur during times of financial
hardship when people take part for career purposes in educational activities to change their lives
(Queeney, 1995: 85). Based on the above definitions, what then is the definition of needs
assessment. Vella (1994:4), defines a needs assessment as " who needs what as defined by
whom"? The "who" is a needer, the "what" is a need, and "whom" as definers (WWW). To her
when applying the WWW the assessor is actually listening to the needs of the stakeholders. She
also suggest that a needs assessment can be "the key to adult learning. Without it there is no
honest defining of learning needs, dialogue, no listening" (Vella, 1994:45).
Witkin and Altschuld (1995:9-10), define needs assessment as "a series of procedures for
identifying and describing both present and desired state of a specific context, deriving
statement of need, placing the needs in order of priority for later action".
10
They further state that a needs assessment is a systematic approach that goes through a defined
series of phases which gathers data by means of procedures and methods designed for a specific
context. Furthermore, a needs assessment identifies gaps, discrepancies, or differences between
current conditions; the ideal, between fact and fiction. According to Sredl and Chesney, (1992:
3-4), needs assessment refers to a "broad spectrum of techniques that involves careful planning
and analysis prior to applying particular performance solutions". They add another dimension to
the definition of needs assessment by stating that when we conduct needs assessment we are
actually planning beforehand.
Sredl and Chesney (1992:3), add a further dimension, that is the formal process of identifying,
scoping, documenting, and justifying needs, placing them in a preferred priority order as
mandated by stakeholders and the affected stakeholders, and selecting those for reduction or
elimination. They further state that needs assessment identifies internal and external gaps in
results. And, lastly, it is defined by Bourque (1994: 4056), as "an information—gathering and
analysis process which results in the identification of needs of individual, groups, institutions,
communities or societies. And educationally, needs assessment... has been used... to identify
the needs of students for instruction in a given subject area...to determine the needs of teachers
for additional training".
Rothwell and Kazanas (1998:55), see it as identifying "gaps in results", placing them in order of
priority, and selecting the most important for closure or reduction". They identify six types of
needs assessment and they are arranged hierarchically. The first is the alpha assessment, which
is least complex and focuses on identification of a problem and causes of a performance
problem. The next is the beta assessment, has to do with the employee performance problem.
The third is the gamma assessment, which focuses on examining the difference between ways
of solving a performance problem. Then the delta assessment, seeks to examine gaps between
"what is" and "what should be". The fifth is the epsilon assessment focuses on examining
discrepancies between what is desired and actual results of an event. The last is the zeta
assessment, which focuses on continuous assessment and evaluation. Thus the definition to be
adopted in this study is the one that focuses on closing the existing gaps and discrepancies. Thus
the next section will look at the purpose of needs assessment based on the adopted definition.
11
5.6 Purpose of needs assessment
According to Witkin and Altschuld (1995:5), needs assessment have a multi-faceted purpose. A
needs assessment is conducted to derive information to benefit a specific group of people. It
also prioritizes and determines criteria for solutions, so that planners and institutions managers
can make defensible decisions. The authors furthermore state that a needs assessment also leads
to action that will improve the planning of the programme, services, organizational status and
operations. Queeny (1995:29), states that a needs assessment has one or more purposes.
Broadly defined the needs assessment purposes may range from either identifying the
educational needs to conducting market research. He argues furthermore that needs assessment
is unique to specific situations and thus takes its characteristics from that context. Its purpose is
to make decisions regarding priorities for a programme. The purpose of a well conducted needs
assessment will lead to measures that will directly benefit the individuals with the needs.
The more specific the purpose, the more useful it is for developing a sound and efficient
assessment. Again, it assists planners to put into perspective problems facing a target group,
service available to the group, and actions that might be taken. Specifying purpose forces the
assessor to make decisions about one or more issues on which information will be sought,
including content areas, target populations, delivery mode, and scheduling (Witkin & Altschuld,
1995:5). As a result information obtained through a needs assessment, will assist the planners
to make informed decisions regarding all aspects of programming. Soriano (1995: 5), argues
that a needs assessment assists the planner to understand the reasons for the assessment, and
knowing for whom and why is it conducted, what is the content required, and how important the
results are. Again, like Vella's Seven Steps of Planning and the WWW questions, on a very
basic level, needs assessment addresses the who, what, when, where, and how of change for
individuals, organizations, communities, and the world (Vella, 1994:22-23).
Furthermore, Queeney (1995:10) states that needs assessment offers a useful and rational
approach to identifying and describing specific areas of need, discovering factors contributing
to the perpetuation of needs, and devising criteria for plans to meet or ameliorate the need. For
example, it guides the planner to define the situational problem. The decision has to be taken,
with regard to a targeted group. The planner has to come up with an effective way of
identifying ideas and needs.
12
The planner has to decide "why" according to Vella (1994) the intervention should be
implemented and "how" it should be conducted. In the area of academic staff development, it
helps the planner to decide on the strategy to be used in the identification of ideas. This is a
crucial stage wherein the planner must understand what the academics needs are. The needs
differ according to individuals. These needs vary from educational needs, teaching needs,
research need, to academic writing needs (Chalam, 1991: 21).
The implication is that no need must be undermined or overlooked as this might lead to
rejection by the academics. It also suggests that the assessor must know how all the stakeholders
view the study, to avoid over estimating or underestimating or even, de- emphasizing the
importance of the study. Gravett (1997:10) and Winberg (1997:25), state that adults have
immediate needs which they feel must be addressed, and if they feel that their needs are
undermined, they will reject the programme and refuse to participate. They will perceive the
programme as being irrelevant to their needs. Moyo et al, (1997:87), views are in line with
those of Gravett (1997:10) and Winberg (1997:25) by stating that, successful programmes are
those that were informed by staff (participants) needs and were relevant to the everyday
concerns, work and developmental needs of teaching staff. They continue to state that the least
successful programmes are those that were decontextualised and were not directly relevant to
the needs of the participants.
Queeny (1995:29) also states that a needs assessment can range from focusing the content of an
educational activity to identifying potential audience. And, according to Vella (1994:23) this is
where the planner starts determining "Who" the participants are while Chalam (1991: 21) refers
to it as "personnel" targeted. The planner is assisted through conducting needs assessment,
about the knowledge of the targeted academics. The implication here is that it assists the planner
to understand the academics' educational and developmental needs.
This means that the context, both external and internal to the academics have to be known to the
planner. The planners also have to take into consideration the culture, the procedure, the
hierarchy and the economic, social and politics of the institution. It is at this stage where the
planner has to consult the authority of the institution and lobby their support for the program.
Again, this is where the planner has to discuss his/her plans with different stakeholders, both the
managers and the envisaged academics to establish how ready they are to engage in learning.
13
According to Moyo et. al (1997:87) programmes are likely to be successful if they are
"certified, and if they fostered active participation and collaboration and encouraged staff to feel
a sense of ownership and involvement in their own development".
According to Queeny (1995:14-15), by merely conducting needs assessment and by
approaching the targeted group, in this case the academics, for assessment, the assessor would
have marketed the programme. It means that the data collected through needs assessment can
be of assistance in effective programme marketing by examining the academics and their
preferences. It can also be used to prepare initial programme information that will capture the
academics' interest and enthusiasm while meeting the requirements of their employers or those
who are paying for their participation (Soriano, 1995:7).
Thus the planner has to have a clear knowledge about the academics. Without a clear
understanding of the potential audience, the planner may market a programme to the wrong
population or use an inappropriate marketing strategy to reach the intended group. As a result,
people who might have enrolled will be unaware of the programme and the wrong population,
those who are informed of the programme, may have no interest in it. Needs assessment data
can also be used to focus marketing materials, highlighting programme features that have
particular appeal to potential academics (Soriano, 1995:7; Sredl & Chesney, 1992: 4; Witkin &
Altschuld, 1995:5). This implies that need assessment can advertise the programme through the
research of participants or academics' needs.
Queeny (1995:16), continues to argue that "data acquired through needs assessment can help
guide decisions about program scheduling and delivery. Adults' inability to fit continuing
education activities into their schedules has been recognised as one, if not the greatest, deterrent
to the pursuit of addition education". Furthermore, it can answer questions related to most
convenient times of the year, day, and hours, session frequency addition, and location
preference, including what distance that person will travel. The assessor will also have to know
that the allocated time, the "when" according to Vella (1994,43), has to suite the task at hand.
And the timing of the programme has to be arranged such that it does not interfere and
inconvenience the academics. This means that when setting the dates and time, the academic
calendar and activities of the institution have to be considered so that all academics can attend
without being inconvenienced.
14
By failing to consider the educational needs of academics, assessors will be risking offering the
wrong programmes, at the wrong times and places, and in the wrong formats. When this
happens, neither the institution nor the population it strives to address is well served (Soriano,
1995:5; Caffarrela, 1994: 154; Chalam, 1991:22).
Soriano (1995:5) and Queeny (1995: 48), attest to the fact that a needs assessment assists the
planner to determine what funds are available to run the programme and who will provide them,
whilst still in the planning process. This implies that needs assessment will assist the planner to
set criteria for determining how best to allocate money, people, facilities, and other resources.
The planner will be able to prepare budgets for the programme before hand and will be able to
determine the expenses that will be incurred throughout the programme (Caffarrella, 1994:197;
Chalam, 1991:22, Queeny, 1995: 9-10; Soriano,1995:5).
According to Galbraith, Sisco and Gigliemino (1997:60) budget allocations must be done
during the planning phase in order to identify any problem a planner might come across. It does
not help to avoid budgeting because it might lead to over or under estimating the money needed
to run the programme and that will impact negatively on the success of the programme.
Galbraith, et. al (1997:60) states that budget, specifically gives an estimate of purposed
expenditure for a given period or purpose.
Furthermore, a need assessment will assist us to know ahead of the time what kind of facilities
and resources are needed. The implication here is that a needs assessment will help the planner
to know "where" as Soriano (1995:5) and Vella (1994:124) puts it, to hold or conduct the
development programme. The "where", indicates to us that the planners have to choose a
suitable venue, which is accssible to all participants. As needs assessment conducted without
adequate resources can produce poor results (Caffarella, 1994:209; Chalam, 1991:21; Sredl &
Chesney, 1992: 4; Queeny, 1995: 9-10). In addition, Sredl and Chesney (1992:4), argue that the
programme objectives can be clarified through assessing needs. They continue to argue that a
needs assessment is the wellspring of objectives. Objectives come from needs found through
identification of performance gaps. Chalam (1991) refers to it as the "rationale" stage.
15
Chalam (1991:21), states that education is purposive by nature thus staff development is an
educational purposeful activity. The programme is planned for academics who are
educationists by nature, and thus has to be purposive. Thus the planner has to ensure that the
expected outcomes are clearly stated and are specific to the needs of the participants.
According to Cafferella (1994:99), they must focus on what participants will learn and also
address the operational aspects of a program.
The implication here is that the objectives should be congruent with the kind of learning that
will take place. For instance, the objective must relate to the kind of learning content to be
used. It must also relate to the methods or strategies to be used by the academic staff developer
planner. Again, for the planner to realize the goals of the programme, constant checks and
reviews of objectives have to be done. For instance, the planner must in the process of
implementing the program, check whether they are still in congruent with the needs of the
academics. The participants have to be continually assured that their needs are going to be
addressed through revising set objectives, eliminating those that seem to be irrelevant and
replacing them with relevant ones.
Sredl and Chesney (1992:6), continue to indicate that needs assessment provides solid data on
which to base decisions regarding the content of the programme and the delivery mode among
other things. They also contend that such data can also provide a focus for the programme
design, content and delivery. According to Vella (1994) this is where the planner asks the
question of "what" content is needed. The planner chooses the "method" as indicated by
Chalam or "how" is the content going to be presented. To answer the "what" and "how"
questions, the planner has to revisit the identified needs of the academics. The planning of the
content and methods should be informed and guided by the identified needs of the academics.
Thus I argue that to assess needs, one must possess knowledge of which particular methods or
steps to follow in order to make an informed decision. The following section will look at
methods of conducting needs assessment.
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5.7 Steps, procedures and methods of conducting needs assessment
Before a method for a need assessment is chosen, certain steps or processes have to be followed.
Sredl and Chesney (1992: 6), identify five steps for conducting a needs assessment; namely, the
planning and scope phase - which take place before any participants can be identified. It takes
place when the assessor' plans how best to close the performance gap between what is actually
taking place and what should be taking place. The second one is obtaining participation - the
actual active involvement of stakeholders who are affected by change, the ones implementing
change and those affecting change. Thirdly, is collecting data - which has to do with the actual
act of collecting data in archives and through interviews. This is the actual stage of assessment
where the assessor is actively involved with the participants. The fourth is the data evaluation —
which takes place after the first three steps. It involves translating data collected from source
material into needs and then agreeing with other stakeholders about the prioritizing of those
identified needs. The last step is the report findings - this is where all the findings about the
need assessment will be reported. The findings have to be reported in a way that will sell the
results to the envisaged clients.
Furthermore, Witkin and Altschuld (1995:14), speak of "A three-phase plan for Assessing
needs". They argue that needs assessment has to take place or occur sequentially although they
argue that the boundaries between them are not fixed. Phase one,is pre-assessment or
exploration and its role is to help build procedures for ensuring the commitment of
management. Its role is also to determine the pre-knowledge about needs in the institution and
to identify problematic areas, to decide on the focus and purpose of the need assessment,
sources of data and use. Lastly, the planner develops the plan for phase two. In phase two, the
main assessment takes place, this is where the actual collection of data occurs. And the needs
are analyzed and then prioritized accordingly. In the last phase, phase three, is where the needs
are used. In this stage the needs are prioritized and evaluated, then thereafter the results are
communicated. The third and the second phases are similar to those of Sredl and Chesney
(1992), collecting data, data evaluation and reporting findings.
17
Soriano (1995:35), states that choosing a suitable method to conduct needs assessment is a
difficult task due to the fact that various methods can lead to similar results. He further argues
that there are various factors that can assist in making a choice about a method to use in
conducting needs assessment. He identifies three factors namely; time, resources and
knowledge. Time - each method depends on the task at hand and on the time available. The
second factor is the resources-wherein the planner has to consider funds and people involved
when choosing a method. The third factor is the knowledge - which has to do with ascertaining
the knowledge needed before choosing a method.
On the other hand, Soriano (1995:15-46) and Witkin and Altschuld (1995:103-283) among
others, identify five needs assessment methods which are secondary data sources, key informant
method, focus group, questionnaires, and interview. Secondary data sources, are those methods
wherein assessors use existing data. Key informant method is the method that has to do with
leaders or people who are representatives from different segment of stakeholders within a
certain field even organisations who hold or possess valuable perceptions and information
regarding needs of a particular group. They can consist of agency representatives, community
leaders, researchers, or even head of departments. They are especially knowledgeable about a
performance problem or possible instructional needs.
Focus group, is a group that consists of the same type of small group interaction. They offer an
easily arranged and implemented way to collect subjective data from a cross section of people.
Questionnaires are methods that are sometimes referred to as mail surveys. They are made up
of written instructional needs. And they assist in soliciting opinions about needs from
participants. They are sometimes developed from interview results to cross check or double
check how many people share similar opinions, sentiments or perceptions about particular
needs. Questionnaires are usually employed as a needs assessment method when a large
population is to be assessed. They are usually anonymous. Questionnaires can be structured-
and use scaled responses, or unstructured-using open-ended questions.
An interview is a method of collecting data face-to-face or telephonically with the interviewee.
There are three types of interview methods, namely, structured, semi-structured and open-
ended. Structured interviews are almost the same as surveys or questionnaires because they
utilise a set of specific questions and have a number of specific responses.
18
The structured interview questions are usually read and the responses are written down by the
interviewer. On the other hand semi-structured interviews have fixed questions which require a
set of responses which provide a room for more expansiation and clarification. Semi-structured
interviews are advantageous because they make it easier and faster for respondents to respond to
questions, as there are viable and likely responses offered. Furthermore, respondents are
afforded a full range of responses as it affords them an opportunity to choose the answers they
perceive to be valid, instead of choosing the first that comes to mind. They are also
advantageous because the respondents are provided with realistic convenient response choices
to select from, and it allows for unique responses to fall outside of the fixed choices
(Warshauer, 1988:28; Gupta, 1999:17; Rothwell & Kazanas, 1998:64; Soriano, 1995:20-22).
Open-ended questions are also referred to as unrestricted opportunities to respond, as they have
no restrictions for respondents. Respondents are able to consider, reason for and against a
specific proposal, thought, feeling, condition, or idea without constraints. Again, respondents
are able to complete and qualify responses in their own words. It also affords the interviewer
the opportunity to clarify, expand and ask for reasons for responses given.
Due to the nature of this research, I prefer to employ semi- structured interviews to access the
views, feelings and perspective of academics with regard to their staff developmental needs. I
also prefer open-ended questions because they have no restrictions for respondents.
Respondents are able to consider reason for and against a specific proposal, thoughts, feeling,
condition, or idea without constraints. Again, respondents are able to complete and qualify
responses in their own words. It also affords me as the interviewer the opportunity to clarify,
expand and ask for reasons for responses given.
5.8 Conclusion
In conclusion, one can say that needs of participants and other stakeholders (academics) play a
vital role in staff development and must inform the planning of their programmes. This is
supported by the literature consulted, which emphasizes the importance of conducting a need
assessment before any developmental programme is planned. Failure to consider these needs
might lead to boredom and frustration on the part of the envisaged participants. Furthermore,
staff developers must know for which purpose is the need assessment conducted and what
strategies and methods are they supposed to employ to elicit needs.
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6. RESEARCH STRATEGY AND METHODS
6.1 Orientation/Approach
An orientation/approach looks at the path that this study is going to employ. In order to tabulate
the approach to be employed I will first look at what a paradigm is. A paradigm is defined by
Guba and Lincoln (in Denzin & Lincoln, 1998:200) as a set of basic beliefs... that deals with
alternates. It represents a world-view that defines, for its holder, the nature of the "world", the
individual's place in it, and the range of possible relationships to that world and its parts". This
definition implies that a paradigm is a philosophy held by an individual and which determines
the way one perceives things. It forms the philosophical framework for actions and methods to
be employed in the research (Guba & Lincoln, 1989: 44). My research design is grounded
within the constructivist paradigm.
Constructivists believe that there is no single reality. They believe that people including the
researcher, construct and construe multiple realities as they interact socially with others and
their environment (Maykut & Morehouse, 1994:11; Patton, 1990:12; Merriam, 1998:22; Denzin
& Lincoln, 1998: 211). They believe that these constructions represent the way in which people
try to make sense of their situations. These constructions are interpreted according to their
personal experiences. Further more, constructivists assume that the findings of research are
constituted by the joint emic-construction of the enquired and the ethic-construction of the
inquirer (Maykut & Morehouse, 1994:12). Thus to access the personal experiences of the
academics I will employ qualitative research methods.
Qualitative research methods are defined by authors such as Patton (1990:12) and Maykut and
Morehouse (1994:26), as being concerned with understanding participants' perception of the
world in depth with the researcher taking the part of being an instrument. Thus based on the
above-mentioned orientation, qualitative research methods were employed to explore and gain
an in-depth the understanding of the developmental needs of academics in the Education
Department of Soweto campus of Vista University.
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6.2 Sampling
As the study is based within the constructivist paradigm, "purposeful sampling" was employed
to select participants as information rich cases - which according to Patton (1990:16) "are those
cases from which one can learn a great deal about issues of central importance to the purpose of
research". Because the purpose and aim of this study are to explore and assess the development
needs of academics, purposeful sampling helped me select academics within the Education
Department academics in order to gain an in-depth understanding of their needs (Maykut &
Morehouse, 1994:56; Merriam, 1990:61).
Maximum variation sampling was also employed to ensure the diversification of needs of
academic staff from junior academics to professors. Maximum variation sampling "aims at
capturing and describing the central themes or principal outcomes that cut across a great deal of
participants... by identifying diverse characteristics or criteria for constructing the sample
(Patton, 1990:172). Maykut and Morehouse (1994:56) see it "as a type of sampling that helps
one to select persons or settings that one thinks represents the range of experience on the
phenomenon on which we are interested ". Other things that I looked at were whether the
participants I sampled have attended staff development programmes.
A letter of permission was written to the Registrar and Faculty Programme Co-ordinator
(Appendix A). A list containing names, ranks and dates of employment of all academics in the
education department was secured from the acting human resource officer on campus and from
the Programme Co-ordinator of the Education Department. From this list I chose all the
academics I intended to interview. Participants were chosen from the four sub-departments of
the Education Department and included both males and females. Most of the participants I
chose, were those who had been with the university for more than three years and I assumed
possessed the necessary information and knowledge with regard to academic issues. Two
principal lecturers were chosen, then three senior lecturers, then two lecturers A and two B, and
lastly two junior lecturers. Each participant received a letter of request to be interviewed
(Appendix B).
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6.2.1 Context of Data Collection
As stated above, the study was conducted at the Soweto Campus of Vista University and I
concentrated only on one academic department, which is the Education Department. The
Education Department consists of four sub-departments namely; professional education which
concentrates on teaching skills and techniques of teaching, designing of teaching material,
micro lessons and practice teaching. This sub-department has four members, two women and
two men, of which one woman and one man was interviewed. The second sub-department is
the school subject education, which focuses more on the mastering of subject methodologies. It
consists of four members, two women and two men, of which one woman and a man were
interviewed. The third sub-department is undergraduate education which deals with academic
programmes at undergraduate level, that is, academic courses such as Education 5001up to
Education 55P and it consists of eight members, four of which were interviewed. And the last
one is Post-graduate education - which deals with academic programmes at postgraduate level.
It specifically focuses on Bachelor of Education (B.Ed), Masters and Doctoral studies. This
sub-faculty consists of five members, three of whom were interviewed.
6.2.2 Data collection Method
The nature of the research problem and the aim of the study necessitated the use of interviews as
a data collection method. According to Patton (1990:165 and 278), as a researcher "if I want to
find out what is in and on someone else's mind ... we interview people to find out from them
those things we cannot directly observe... we cannot observe feelings, thoughts and intentions".
In addition to giving the researcher access to participants' perspective, interviews are flexible
and adaptable, they can be administered to any person and any situation. Merriam (1998:72)
adds another dimension by her view that we interview so that we can understand how
participants interpret the world around them.
Thus all the data collected was done by means of semi-structured interviews. I used semi-
structured interviews to access the views, feelings and perspective of academics with regard to
their developmental needs. An interview schedule, which is an interview format made up of a
detailed set of open-ended questions supported by probing questions and clarifying questions
were employed in the interviews (Patton, 1990: 324).
22
The open-ended questions have no restrictions for respondents. Respondents are able to
consider reasons for and against a specific proposal, thoughts, feeling, condition, or idea
without constraints. Again, respondents are able to complete and qualify responses in their own
words. It also affords the interviewer the opportunity to clarify, expand and ask for reasons for
responses given.
To gain the perspectives, feelings and views of participants I personally conducted all
interviews. A tape recorder was used to record all the information from the participants. Eleven
academics from the Department of Education were interviewed. These interviews were
conducted in the offices of the respective academics on a one-to-one basis. Firstly an
appointment was made with each academic. Each academic was allocated an hour. A
pseudonym was allocated to each academic staff and all of them were assured of the
confidentiality of the information and their names. They were also promised a to be briefed
about the results once the study was completed.
Before interviewing the participants I explained to them why I intended interviewing them. I
gave them an interview schedule to peruse so that they could raise concerns or objections if they
had any. The respondents read the schedule and some asked me to clarify areas they did not
understand. Thereafter I started asking the participants' questions. In the process of interviews,
I took notes for the purpose of analysis, so that I could remind myself if there was something I
had forgotten during analysis (Merriam 1998: 88). The questions were in English and the
respondents were also expected to answer in that language. I chose English because the official
language of the institution is English and because most academics speak different languages
African languages or Afrikaans. I did accommodate the participants who preferred using their
mother tongue. For example there was one respondent, who reverted to answering in Afrikaans
towards the end of her session, and the interpretation thereof was done through the help of an
Afrikaans speaker. My first interview, which also served as a pilot interview was with Ronald.
The interview went well and some of the questions asked were the following:
What are the problems you currently experience in your job as an academic?
Explain how meeting your need/s might contribute to your development as an
academic.
How do you think these needs should be met?
23
What positive influence do you think your met need/s will have in the Education
Faculty?
Have you ever attended any staff developmental programmes or programmes
since you came to this institution? Yes/ No. How did these staff development
programmes help in enhancing your work as an academic?
To what extent do you think your need/s as an academic should inform the
planning of staff development programmes you are expected to attend?
These questions were employed to identify the gaps between the present state and the desired
state of academic staff development
6.4 Data analysis
Qualitative data analysis is a systematic process of selecting, categorising, comparing,
synthezing and interpreting of data to provide explanations of the single phenomenon of interest
(Maykut & Morehouse, 1994:127 - 128). According to Merriam (1990:178), when analysing
data one is actually trying to make sense out of data collected. The data has to be consolidated,
reduced and interpreted to make meaning. The data analysis took place at an early stage, and as
an ongoing process. I analysed collected data to identify salient themes in each interview.
Patton (1990:390) states that "the patterns, themes, and categories of analysis come from the
data, they emerge out of data rather than being imposed on them prior to data collection and
analysis". As said above, data analysis began as soon as I had gathered the first set of data and it
ran parallel to data collection because each activity informed and drove other activities. The
constant comparative method of data analysis, as discussed by Maykut and Morehouse (1994)
was employed. This process will be discussed in detail in section 7.
6.5 Trustworthiness
According to Patton (1990:416) the credibility of a qualitative inquiry depends on "rigorous
techniques and methods for gathering high-quality data that is carefully analysed... the
credibility of the researcher, which is dependent on training, experience, track record, status and
presentation of self ".
24
The implication drawn here is that there must be an element of trustworthiness. Maykut and
Morehouse (1994:145), state that trustworthiness means that others must have confidence in the
findings of ones research. I had to ensure that others viewed my work as valid and reliable.
Validity thus has to do with whether the data are, in fact what they are believed or purported to
be. Information obtained from different participants was compared to ensure validity. Merriam
(1998:199) differentiates between internal validity and external validity. Internal validity of
qualitative designs is the degree to which the interpretations and concepts have mutual
meanings between the participants and researcher. It also has to do with confidence and trust by
other researchers in the manner in which one conduct ones study and the findings. And it refers
to the degree in which the explanations of a phenomenon match the realities of the world, in
other words it has to do with how people construct reality (Patton, 1990:416; Merriam,
1998:199). External validity has to do with detailed descriptions that help others to fully
understand similar situations and extends these understanding to subsequent (the following)
research. But it is important to note that external validity is dependent on internal validity, it
cannot occur without it as Guba and Lincoln (in Merriam1998: 26), says that "there is no point
in asking whether meaningless information has any general applicability".
I have tried to ensure external validity by describing clearly and in detail the experiences and
needs of academics. To increase the external validity of the study I submitted a detailed research
report, which is fully descriptive of the procedures followed during data collection and analysis.
And lastly, a detailed description of the research process and outcomes was furnished (Maykut
& Morehouse, 1994: 126-148; Denzin & Lincoln, 1998: 213).
Reliability in qualitative research refers to the consistency of the researcher's interactive style,
data recording, data analysis, and interpretation of participants meanings from the data
(MacMillan & Schumacher, 1993: 480-486). Merriam (1998:204), states that given the
complexity of human experience and humans as instruments, the main goal is that the results are
consistent and dependable in relation to the data collected. Thus to increase reliability I have
tried to provide a clear "audit trail", which consists of original interview transcript, the unitised
data, and the discovery sheet.
25
6.6 Ethical considerations
Because the interviews were conducted where participants work and that the information they
furnished has to do with their workplace, I conducted interviews privately in their respective
offices. I honoured the culture, procedure and protocol of the university campus and the
department by asking permission to conduct the interviews. Thus the letter of permission was
typed and handed over to the campus Registrar departmental Programme Co-ordinator.
The participants' right of privacy was exercised - no names were disclosed but pseudonyms
were allocated to each participant. No sub-department name was used. Because the
participants furnished some sensitive and controversial information, I treated information
confidentially. Before asking questions I briefly explained the purpose of the interview and
asked whether the respondent had any questions or concerns. This code of conduct is supported
by Patton (1990:356), namely, promises and reciprocacy- meaning that all promises have to be
fulfilled, risk assessment- I considered the risk facing the participants by asking them to grant
me permission to interview them, confidentiality and informed consent- I first secured
permission from the relevant people and then I ensured that the participants remain anonymous
and the information they shared confidential.
7. DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF DATA
As stated above in paragraph 6.4, I employed the constant comparative method as described in
Maykut and Morehouse (1924:126-148) to analyse data. The constant comparative method has
to do with forming of categories by continually comparing data collected to search for recurring
patterns. According to Merriam (1998:177-179), when one tries to make sense of the data
collected one is actually analysing data. The initial analysis was done after I had completed my
first two interviews.
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7.1 Coding of data
I first transcribed two interviews, thereafter I typed the transcript and the field notes. Then, I
read through the transcript of my two interviews a number of times to familiarise myself with
the content and to form a holistic understanding of the data. Then I photocopied the transcripts
and the originals were put aside and the copies were used for analysing purposes. To be able to
identify my transcript I coded them as described by Maykut and Morehouse (1994:27) and
MacMillan and Schumacher (1993:486). For example, I gave a code for each and every type of
data, then the source of data and lastly the page number. The first page (1) of a transcript (1)
from interview with "Gertrude" T\G-1. The coding was done on the top right-hand corner of
each page. The next step that followed was to unitise the data.
7.2 Unitising of the data
The unitising of the data was the next step. This was done through repeatedly reading through
the transcripts. Then "chunks or unit of meaning" were identified. A unit of meaning can be a
word, phrase or a paragraph that contains the essence of a matter. Thus I separated one
identified "unit of meaning" from each other and from the next by drawing a line across the
page, I wrote a word or a phrase carrying the essence of the unit of meaning in the margin
(Maykut & Morehouse, 1994:129; Macmillan & Schumacher: 487-488). An example of a unit
of meaning from the transcript of Ronald " The first thing is that when planning for these
programmes the planners need to identify our needs or let them know what our needs are
before those programmes can be planned or implemented ". And the words "programmes
planning" were written in the margin as a unit of meaning. After I identified all units of
meaning I coded them accordingly, they were cut out and pasted on their respective index
cards. The contents on the cards were transferred to a discovery sheet. Then I started looking
for emerging words and I linked them, I also looked for similar concepts and ideas and
recurring themes to form the provisional categories.
7.2.1 Example of some identified provisional categories:
Insufficient support from the management
Importance of needs assessment
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Quality of staff development programme
Workloads
Mentoring
Computer skills
Writing skills
Research techniques
Importance of funding
The step that followed next was the discovery process.
7.3 Discovery Process
After I had prepared a list of provisional categories, I started putting each coded unit of
meaning under the provisional category. The look/feel-alike criteria was employed to compare
the units of meaning with the provisional categories and other units of meaning as described by
Maykut and Morehouse (1994:137). I continually verified each coded unit of meaning by
comparing it to the provisional category through the means of look/feel-alike criteria. Any data
that did not fit into a particular provisional category was put aside to form a new category or
categorised elsewhere.
Categorising was done until each provisional category contained at least six unitised data cards.
I was then in a position to draw up a "rule of inclusion" so that I could facilitate the process
further, and to refine the identified categories as stipulated by Maykut and Morehouse
(1994:138-139) and Merriam (1998:176). The rule of inclusion was implemented to ensure that
only relevant data was recorded properly under the relevant categories. This assisted me in
deciding which data to include or to exclude. The rule of inclusion was written as a
"propositional statement" as suggested by Guba and Lincoln (in Maykut & Morehouse,
1994:139). Maykut and Morehouse (1994:139) describe a propositional statement as conveying
the meaning that is contained in the data cards collected under a category name. Thus the rules
of inclusion provided a summary of the meaning of each category and became the basis for the
incorporation of further data.
28
The process of categorisation continued until all the data were placed according to their
respective categories and none was left. As I continued to explore all the possible divisions, I
gained an understanding of categories that were beginning to form. The rules of inclusion were
adjusted and redefined where necessary. They were then compared with each other to identify
those that stood alone and those that form salient relationships and patterns. A number of
propositional statements developed and were later written down as outcome propositions. And
later these outcome propositions formed the framework of the findings. I further prioritised the
outcome propositions in the light of their importance in contribution to the focus of the inquiry
and their prominence in the data (Maykut & Morehouse, 1994:158).
29
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8. FINDINGS
8.1 Introduction
The aim of this empirical study was to investigate the developmental needs of academics staff at
an institution of higher education. Thus as said before, the investigation was conducted at Vista
Soweto Campus in the Education Department. The interviews prepared focused on eliciting
information in order to understand what their future staff development needs as academics were.
In this section I am going to discuss the findings of this study under four categories. The first to
be discussed will be a need for continuous academic staff development, the second will be the
importance of need assessment in planning academic staff development programmes. The third
will be the need for acquiring skills for academic writing and publishing, and then the next will
be the need for mastery of research skills, and finally, availability of funds for academic staff
development programmes will be discussed.
8.1.1 The table below indicates categories, subcategories and outcomes statements, which emerged from the data analysis process:
Categories and sub-categories Outcome statements
Need for continuous staff development The academics believe that there is a need for continuous staff development as growth
More developmental programmes. and development play an important role in Empowerment their lives. They believe that without it, Personal development academics will not be equipped with Student development necessary academic skills. Learning organization
Importance of need assessment in Most academic staff indicated that their first planning academic staff development need is for a proper need assessment to be programmes conducted. The university must first find
out what their needs are before planning Consultation with academics any development programme, and not Boredom and absconding impose irrelevant academic development
Duplication of programmes activities on them.
Scheduling of programmes Programme planning as a negotiated activity
31
Need for acquisition and mastery of research skills, academic writing skills and publishing skills.
Art of writing articles and publishing Conference papers Mentoring Importance of research Current research skills and techniques Goals of the faculty Tool for promotion
The academics alluded to the fact that although they are employed to teach students, they are also expected to write articles and publish. They feel that, they need to be trained in the skills of writing articles for publishing and preparing papers for conferences. Although most academics confirmed being involved in research of some sort, they felt that they still need more training as they needed to keep abreast with the current trends of research
Availability of funds for development Academics feel that there are not enough funds allocated towards staff development
Lack of funds and other academic activities within the Failureto attend conferences, workshops institution, especially research. They and other development programmes. alluded to the fact that the protocol and the Personal funding procedure they have to follow are also Cumbersome protocol cumbersome and tiring.
8.2 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
8.2.1 Need for continuous staff development
One of the Faculty of Education's goal is to " to promote continuous staff development" (Vista
Faculty of education lecturer's guide, 2000:8). The participants interviewed however feel that
the department is failing to achieve this goal. They feel that there are minimal staff
development programmes. Some of the academics interviewed alluded to the fact that they
have never been involved in any staff development since they worked at this institution. Ronald
states that, "For fourteen years and throughout these years nothing in terms of staff
development has been planned for us. Except that the ones planned were general to all staff on
this campus or never materialised, like the computer programme".
Most interviewed academics view staff development as a tool to self-empowerment, and
perceive a lack of it as retarding their academic progress and as disempowering to them. Rhoda,
sees staff development as meant "to empower in certain areas that you are not comfortable
with. That obviously has to do with you with your work here, so it relates directly to your work.
32
And Pinky adds to the above by stating that "staff development is actually developing yourself
as a staff member and involves your academic skills, your personal skills, and the skills that
relates to the work that you are doing, in dealing with your academic programmes and
whatever". The academics views on staff development programmes are supported by Prior
(1986:52), who encourages continuous staff development and categorises it as the acquisition of
knowledge, personal development activities, practical skills, organisational and management
development. She recommends that professional development services have to be offered under
all four categories and on a continuous basis. Adding to this, Harding et. al (in Prior, 1986:23),
says that staff development should be the development of research, professional training,
personal and organisational development on a continuous basis. And Webb (1996:1), concurs
by emphasising that staff development facilitate and support staff so that they may fully serve
their own and institution needs.
The implication here is that lack of staff development may lead to malfunction of the institution.
This confirms the reasons why the academics have a need for staff development programmes,
they need it so as to develop themselves in totality as mentioned by the above authors. For
example, to Getrude staff development means continual upgrading of one' skills and one self, "
Staff development should actually serve as a prerequisite, because if you don't constantly
upgrade yourself and your knowledge base there is no way in which you are going to equip
yourself and your students adequately". And Zintle states the following "Staff development
programmes are going to improve the skills of lecturers or people working in a particular
department, eg. Programmes such as career development, empowering staff, computer literacy,
curriculum development".
Similarly, the faculty of education acknowledges the significance of staff development. In the
Lecturers' Guide, (1999:8), they state that staff development is needed to " develop professional
expertise to enhance personal development and to develop research capability". According to
what the participants say, the institution does not practice what it preaches. And if it can start
putting into operation its goals and objectives it will create a learning organisation. Lucky
stated that " I was made to understand that the mission or vision of our faculty encourages
learning and more so a learning organisation. I also know that the faculty encourages personal
growth but those are just prints in the guide and the faculty managers do not put that into
practice. And had they put that into practice and created a learning organisation, I am telling
33
you, everybody will be an expert and will be excelling in most of the academic things ...like
research and publishing". Kith adds that " If the university want to have happy and content
people, they should help us develop our weak areas and they should make this place a leaning
organisation for us. They should actually create a conducive learning atmosphere, where we
academics will always be eager to learn and develop, and incentives should be provided
thereafter you know". West (in Kerka, 1995:3) states that a learning organisation encourages
and promotes a culture of learning and a community of learners and consequently ensures that
knowledge gained by learners benefits and enhances the organisation. Furthermore, West adds
that there cannot be any organisational learning without individual learning. The implication
here is that to keep abreast with global educational developments and to be empowered,
academics should always be engaged in continuous mind stimulation through learning and staff
development programmes. And to be sure that right needs are addressed a proper need
assessment has to be conducted.
8.2.2 The importance of conducting needs assessment
Most of the academics interviewed indicated that one of their main needs is to see a need
assessment being conducted. They have alluded to the fact that the university management will
know what their needs are if they are consulted and be given a chance to air their individual
needs. Most of them feel that they have varied and unique needs, and the only time that these
needs can be addressed is when proper consultation has been done. In this regard Pinky states
that "... Vista has not gone out of its way to, firstly find out what the staff needs are in order to
arrange appropriate staff development programme. And it has been an individual attempt to go
to other institution like Unisa, Rau and Wits to attend those developmental programmes
because you feel I lack intensity in this area. And when attending such staff development
programmes then you feel that your weak points are being addressed and attended to. This
institution has actually failed as a learning organization it has never taken its employees
interests into consideration".
Queeney (1995:xiii), who argues that "a needs assessment is not a luxury, but a necessity...an
essential component of the planning process, for it helps to define the ways in which clients can
best be served".
34
Queeney continues stating that "carefully planned and implemented needs assessment
incorporated into the planning process can substantially reduce uncertainty about programme
appropriateness". In this regard, one of the participants Pinky states that "One thing that I
would personally appreciate is first to determine what the needs of individual staff members and
then collate similar need. Thereafter design appropriate staff development programmes
according to those needs of various staff members within the department ...i f I could be given a
chance twice or to list my needs so that staff development programmes could be structured
according to the needs, then we could deliver quality education to our students".
The implication is that any development programme planning should be informed and guided
by the needs of the participants. Failure to consider these needs may lead to boredom, and
participants may abscond from such programmes. Vella (1998:6), states that if the participants
of a programme are not given a chance to state their views and needs, "they will talk with their
feet, they will go and never return". Thus it is important that the needs of participants be taken
into consideration at all times. Queen "one of the participants state that "Before they start
planning any programme the authorities must first come to us lecturers. They should go to all
campuses, perhaps other campuses might not have needed what we need. They should have
come to Soweto campus and asked us, as to what we really need to know... Then, when they
have that information ready they could go and prepare. But they should not really run their
programme just within the particular time frame which they decide, you know, which is not
decided by us or the process itself".
Furthermore, academics stated that lack of proper needs assessment leads to repetition of similar
and irrelevant programmes. They feel that employment thereof (need assessment) may help
minimize duplication of programmes. For example Lucky alluded to the fact that, "needs
assessment is very necessary so that whoever plans for staff development will know what the
requirements are, unlike just putting together a programme that will not benefit the people,
maybe I have been to that programme before or I have knowledge of it. Therefore, an analysis
will sort of give whoever is planning an idea of what needs to be done and also address what I
need to improve on". Kit also adds to this by saying that, "... if the staff, which is the target for
development, is consulted and gives its input, I believe that there can be great improvement.
The participants will be enthusiastic because they will be doing what they wanted".
35
Some of the academics attribute failure of past staff development programmes to poor
scheduling. These academics feel that if a needs assessment was conducted the planners will
know when to plan the programme. In the words of Ronald "The first thing, is that when
planning for these programmes the planners need to identify our needs or we let them know
what our needs are before those programmes can be planned or implemented. Then, thereafter
there is a need for the people planning the programme to look at our schedules to ensure that
they don't interfere with our normal teaching or working programmes. They should also look
at the question of logistics in terms of venue and other things to ensure that it is conducive, and
that there will be a conducive atmosphere for such staff development programme to occur". To
Vella (1998: 6), "when and where" and Caffarella (1994:154), "scheduling and site", states that
the time and site must be in accordance and convenient to the needs of the participants and not
of the developers.
From the above, it is evident that participants are not satisfied with how programmes are
planned. Caffarella (1994:18-19), states that " experienced practitioners have found that the
process of planning programs is essentially a negotiated activity between and among educators,
learners and organisations ... Rarely is a program produced by a single planner". Thus the
implication drawn from the above is that is that learners (in this case academics), have to be
consulted and their individual circumstances have to be taken into consideration. Again this also
means that the success of the program depends on the amount of co-operation and consultation
between the planners and academics. This means that if a proper needs assessment is conducted
the planners may be able informed about certain aspects that influence or affect the envisaged
participants, and will thus plan according to their needs. Consequently, planners will also
know, when, who, how, why, what, whom, and where to plan the developmental program
(Vella, 1994:5).
8.2.3 Need for acquisition of skills for research and academic writing
Most academics interviewed feel that they need the necessary skills with the art of writing
articles or publishing and writing papers for conferences. Furthermore, they stated that ever
since they were in the employment of the institution in question, they have never received
formal training with regard to the above mentioned skills, except when a colleague attempted to
assist them but could not continue due to occupational commitments.
36
They alluded to the fact that they do not possess the necessary needed skills of writing and
publishing articles. Thus they felt that they need intensive training. In this regard Getrude
states that "another need which is the burning issue for me is the one on writing research
papers, writing articles, but there is no some kind of training to say how do you go about it.
Ever since I came to this institution I have never been trained with regard to research or any
thing. How do you prepare a paper for a conference that you have to do on your own. And
maybe, I can say two months or so, the department Programme Coordinator tried to meet that
need but it was not finalised, we just met in the meeting, talked about the guidelines but the
actual doing of writing the paper was never done. So I cannot say at the moment I am confident
in writing a paper for a journal or to be presented in a conference. It was just the beginning
and it was left hanging. No follow- ups are done after a programme has been introduced. To
add to that Lucky says "I would like them to address academic writing because I think that is
very important. As university lecturers, we are expected to write articles, writing books, and in
my case I still need help with regard to academic writing".
The implication drawn from the above is that most of the interviewed academics cannot write
academic articles because they do not possess the knowledge and expertise and thus lack
confidence. They find it difficult to produce papers because there is no one to help or even to
mentor them. And the general feeling is that they should not just be told about what academic
writing is, but the there should be staff development in that regard. Academics say that the
faculty must put its goals and objectives into operation, instead of just putting them in writing
and doing nothing about them as is the case at the present moment. The goals and objectives of
the faculty are to "provide aspiring researchers with a mentor on research article...liasing with
publishing companies" (Lecturers Guide, 1999: 7). These goals are seen as rhetoric by some of
the academics. Zintle "The staff which is more professional should run a programme such as
writing article and publishing like one lecturer who is already doing it. We do not need to hear
people talking about academic writing skills we want to see them do it, practically showing us
how to go about it". Thus to motivate and instil confidence in academics to write and publish,
the institution has to address these needs.
The second important need has to do with research skills. Although most academics have
confirmed that they are involved in research they feel that they still need more intensive training
in this regard to keep abreast with current research trends.
37
They perceive research as one of the core functions of academics. And this is confirmed by The
National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE), (1997:19) document which emphasises
that "research plays a key role" in higher education. Furthermore, this document states that "
the production, advancement and dissemination of knowledge and the development of higher
education-level human resources are core functions of the higher education system" (NCHE:
1997:19).
Participants at the institution in question feel that their institution has neglected this area. Most
of the academics interviewed view themselves as novices in the research field, especially
because most of them have just completed their masters' degrees. For example, Kit answer to
the question "how do you view yourself with regard to research and academic writing?"
Answered: "I am a novice. I only researched my dissertation question. But I am busy with one
of my colleagues researching a topic of interest for a conference, I hope I get it right. But you
know, I know that I won't make it on my own. I still need some guidance from experienced
colleagues like the one whom I am working with now". Furthermore Queen also state that "I
need a lot of enlightenment into research, you know, I need to know more about research so
that I can enjoy the real academic world. What can an academic do without any research skills
anyway. One is an incomplete academic without that. So you see my dear, I just need to be on
the same par with my colleague in our department and in other institution".
This is confirmed by the views of Pinky who state that "I want to be exposed to more current
research techniques because sticking to empirical evidence at times does not work because it
does not make your research finding that valid. But your usage of a number of research
techniques especially because you are a human science faculty we need to elicit within our
respondent the real thing, the real experiences, and through empirical evidence only it will not
be a true reflection of what you actually want to find out". The reality of the situations of the
majority of interviewed academics are in conflict with the belief and the goals of the Faculty of
Education of the institution in question, which states that " the goal of the Faculty of Education
is to develop support structures for researchers, becoming acquainted with research methods
and preparing research papers... identifying fields of study, formulating topics and research
proposals ... one workshop per year per camps" (Lecturers Guide, 2000:7).
38
According to the majority of interviewed academics these goals have not been implemented.
They are still waiting for the faculty to put into operation all of the above mentioned goals.
Some academics argue that ever since they came to this institution, about six years ago they
were never trained with regard to research. They say that they gained the little knowledge and
experiences from their master' supervisors and from their doctoral promoters which is not
sufficient. For example Getrude emphasise this by stating that "another need which is a
burning issue for me is the one of research. And unfortunately there is no some kind of training
to say how do you do it. One of my colleagues did try to help us but could not continue with it
because of personal research commitment and teaching responsibilities. But I feel that the
research department could have taken over from where our colleague ended. Unfortunately
nothing was done about it. It was left hanging until today".
The academics state that they cannot be productive without research and as a result this
impinges on their promotion and progress. According to the interviewed academics this like
academic writing skill and publishing have a direct bearing on the criteria for promotion. They
feel despondent because their immediate and occupational needs are not being properly
addressed. This is supported in the views of Rogers (1996:66), who argues that adults learn
what is relevant to their everyday needs, for example adults usually come to learn for various
reasons, like addressing their occupational needs. The implication here is that, for meaningful
learning to take place, academics' needs have to be catered for, and not be neglected.
Vella (1998:22), argues that learning takes place when there are "changes in the learner's
knowledge, skill, and attitude... transfer is learning from the program that is applied in the
learner's work after completing the education or training ...and impact is the improvement in
the performance of the learner's organisation as a result of the learner's work". According to
the interviewees this is not the situation in the institution in question. Unfortunately no program
was planned to help the academics improve their research skills and as a result no learning,
transfer or impact took place as explained above. Furthermore, according to Wlodkowski and
Ginsberg (1995:25), this kind of situation is demotivating and disempowering to the academics,
because they are not given an opportunity to expand their knowledge and to be motivated
intrinsically.
39
8.2.5 Availability of funds for development
The academic staff perceives the funding of developmental programmes as an obstacle to their
academic growth. They feel that there are not enough funds allocated towards staff
development. Academics feel that there are not enough funds allocated towards conferences
and workshops. Their wish is to see the funds made available to them to improve their
knowledge. Kith state " lack of funding discourages you from improving yourself". Getrude
adds by saying that "I would like to see funds available for staff development to take place.
While Rhoda feels that "I think more money must be available for staff development
programmes that fits your specific needs. There are a lot of developing programmes on the
markets that are available but seeing that we don't have enough funds to attend, it becomes
very difficult to go on one's own money. Actually the department must make funds available for
module writers to attend these conferences and seminars to update themselves with new
research findings in this field".
Furthermore, academics attribute their performance with regard to writing articles, computer
skills and research to lack of enough funds. Some feel that they are not computer literate due to
unavailability of funds. They feel that they need computer skills to produce good teaching
media and to do their administration work. Doris pointed out that, as academics they need
computers to be able to do their work and to look for information. "But I think many of us
depend on advance technology and use of Internet but unfortunately we do not really know how,
I think we really have to know how to look for information then utilise it. Knowledge of
computers help you in developing your own research". Getrude added to this by stating that
"My academic need is to upgrade or improve my computer skills. And that links with staff
development because that will have an impact on my preparations as well. Whether it could be
conducted in the form of a lecture or a workshop, whatever".
With regard to research and conference attendance the academics feel that funds impact
negatively because they at times they have to personally sponsor themselves. Queen concurs
with other academics in this respect when she states that "I can tell you I am very dissatisfied
about funding. I think the institution does not know that we are part of the production machine.
They put money into us and then they are sure at the end of the day we produce good students.
And these students go out and impress people and more students will come to Vista.
40
But they are putting so little money, for instance, it had gone down now. They gave me
R620.00 and I had to pay R1700.00 for the flight, pay R780.00 for staying in the hotel. And
when I look at that, I am saying i f I did not put that into myself I would not have had the
experiences that I have now after listening to so many papers. But they make it so much
impossible, I had to dig down my own pocket to develop myself '. Lucky added that, "funding
is very poor, we struggle to get funds like when we have to go to a conference. For instance,
this year we had a maximum of R540.00 per person which is just not realistic, because there
was a conference we had to negotiate with other staff members to get their share of funding,
thus depriving them of a chance to attend conferences this year".
Another factor is the procedure that is followed to obtain the necessary funds. They feel that
there is too much protocol which is cumbersome, and which stifles their growth. They feel that
it takes time to first take your requisition to the sub-head, the programme co-ordinator, the dean
and then the dean will send it to central campus to the director of finance for approval. All the
mentioned people are usually not on the same campus but are spread across the country. They
also state that at times the requisition papers even get lost between the people who must
authorise them and usually none of them will want to take responsibility. Most of the
academics feel that the university should reduce the protocol, and funds should be readily
available for staff development activities such as workshops, training and conferences. In this
respect Zintle says that " funding is very minimal...there is a protocol that is followed, you are
told about the budget that is not there, or that is minimal not covering everybody. In other
words the budget stifles our progress". Pinky also concurs by stating that " as far as our
institution is concerned funding is a very sore point, because we are always restricted. And
because of the knowledge that we know there are no funds, you tend to lack motivation to go
forward, because what if you tell your self you will be attending this conference and then you
are told you don't have sufficient funds. So that is a serious problem that needs to be
considered. Availability of funds for staff development programmes".
41
8.3 Summary
This section focused on findings that emanated from the analysed data collected during the data
collection process. Thus the following categories and their sub-categories were discussed in
detail, need for continuous staff development, importance of need assessment in planning
academic staff development programmes, acquisition of necessary skills for academic writing
and publishing, need for mastery of research skills, need for mastery of research skills, and lack
of motivation and support. I used the excerpts from the interview transcripts in my discussion
the of findings. I also referred to the relevant part of the literature reviewed to support the views
of academics.
9. OVERVIEW AND CONCLUSION
This essay concentrated on the developmental needs of academic in an institution of higher
education. The focus was on the experiences of a sample of academics in the Sub-Faculty of
Education. It was divided into several parts, with the first part examining the literature based on
the research question, which is to identify the developmental needs of academics so that they
can be addressed in future.
In this study, I have attempted to show that developmental needs of academics play an
important role in determining the future of the institution. This study also found that failure to
address these developmental needs leads to professional stagnation. Academics in this
institution feel that their needs are of less importance and are usually ignored by the
management. Thus, academics are not motivated because they feel disempowered by the
prevailing situation. The literature studied emphasises the importance of staff development, and
also that needs of participants are central to any programme planning. Before any
developmental programme is planned, a thorough need assessment should be conducted.
Furthermore the literature also advises against planning programmes via a "top-down"
approach. Vella (1994:5), concurs by stating that "adult learners, ... can decide what is to be
taught as well. They will vote with their feet if the course does not meet their needs. They will
simply walk out".
42
This is the case in the institution in question, academics are demotivated to attend staff
development programme due to issues relating to funds scheduling of programs and irrelevant
programmes imposed on them. Thus this implies that for academic staff development
programmess to be successful, the needs of academics have to be addressed adequately. This
means that there should be consultation done with academics before hand, a proper and suitable
programme plan has to be employed.
10. RECOMMENDATIONS
I would like to sum up my study by recommending the following to the institution in question
and for institutions of higher education in South Africa generally:
Academic staff development is the prerogative and responsibility of each institution's
managers to ensure that a learning organisation is created through introduction of different
learning opportunities. The management must show willingness to create and support the
employees within the institution. And this can be achieved only when the management
make the necessary resources, like funds, available to all staff members who need to learn or
acquire certain skills.
Most academics alluded to the fact that no needs assessment is conducted before
programmes are planned. Thus I will argue that it is imperative for the university
management and the different faculty managers to consult their subordinates before any
developmental programme is planned and implemented. How does the management of the
university know the needs of their subordinates if they do not ask the envisaged target group
about them? How do they afford to plan a programme without knowing exactly what the
needs are? I argue that this kind of planning is doomed to failure because chances of it
being irrelevant to the needs of participants are very high. Thus I recommend that proper
programme planning and implementation strategies be employed to ensure effective
development in the institution. I will also recommend that the institution should take the
needs of its staff into consideration and address them accordingly for the benefit of the
institution.
43
• The other thorny issue that needs the immediate attention of the top management is that of
academic research, writing and publishing skills. Since these aspects are key
determinants of academics' promotions, I recommend that the institution should organise
the necessary workshops to train academics on a continuous basis. I also argue that the
academics should be given a thorough training with regard to these skills. Academics
should also be given someone to mentor them. More experienced academics and senior
academics should be paired or be given someone to train and to mentor. The university
should channel more resources to empower the academics with these skills, as the expertise
of the academic also impact on the reputation of the institution. In other words the success
of an institution academically depends on the publishing ability of that institution. This
means that Vista should start becoming a learning organization. It should start engaging its
employees in learning activities and research. For academics to master research skills they
have to engage in research activities as Vella (1999:19) argues that the only time we can say
a person masters something is when that person has actually appropriated learning and
knowledge. When a person has actually appropriated learning he/she has actually
practically engaged with that activity. But without knowledge appropriation, no skill will be
acquired.
• Lack of enough funding for academic staff development was highlighted by most
academics as a hindrance to their development. Both the procedure and the amount
allocated were pointed out as being problematic. Thus I argue that for successful staff
development the institution must make available enough funds and must not just allocate an
amount without first checking with academics as to the kind of activity they need to engage
in. The nature, duration and location of the developmental activity has to be taken into
consideration. The university should make funds available for both attendance and
presentation of papers, and those funds should cater for all costs needed as long as proof
will be submitted. The protocol and procedure followed to obtain will have to be changed.
The protocol should be reduced. The number of people who approves the requisition should
be reduced to save time and to avoid loss of requisition documents in between. At least the
sub-head and the head of department should approve and then the finance department. This
will address the needs of the academics.
44
With the insight that I gained with regard to academic staff development needs, I believe that
this research will add value and help alleviate misunderstandings between the academics and the
management of Vista, if the recommendations will be adopted and be implemented, in
accordance with vision and mission statement of the university and respective faculties. The
university should adhere to its mission statement which state that "Vista university, as a learner-
centred, community-based institution, is repositioning itself to become a major player in
selected niche areas of human resource development and national development by:...Creating a
culture of shared responsibility amongst stakeholders. Promoting excellence as the yardstick
for good practice in all areas of endeavour" (Vista University calendar, 2001:2).
45
LIST OF REFERENCES
BOURQUE, ML 1994: Needs Assessment. (In: the international Encyclopedia of
Education 1994. 2nd ,I Vol 7, pp.4056-4058.)
CAFARELLA, RS 1994: Planning programs for adult learners: A practical guide for
educators and staff developers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
CHALAM, KS 1991: Academic Staff Development in higher education. New Dehli: KP
Bagchi & Company.
CRYER, P 1998: Transferable skills, marketability and Lifelong Learning. Studies in
Higher Education, 123 (2): 207. London: Carfax Publishing.
DUIGNAN, P & CASSWELL, S 1992: Wanganui Community alcohol action programme
evaluation in New Zealand: Journal of Drug Issues, 22 (3), 757-760. Auckland:
University of Auckland.
GALBRAITH, MW; SISCO, BR & GiGLIEMINO, LM 1997: Administering success
programs for adults: promoting excellence in adult, community and continuing
education. Melbourne: Krieger.
GRAVETT, SJ & PETERSEN, NF 2000: Academic staff development from a
transformational learning perspective: South African Journal of Higher Education,
14(1): 31-35.
GRAVETT, SJ 1997: Adult learning: Implications for teaching and training.
Johannesburg: Rand Afrikaans University.
GUPTA, K 1999: A practical guide to needs assessment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
HAY, D & BUCHNER, J 1999: Reflective Academic Practitioners: Prerequisite for
Professional Development in Higher Education Institution. The South African Journal
of Higher Education, 13(3): 112-117. 46
KAPP, CA & CELLIERS, CD 1998: Continuing personal professional development of
university lecturers: A case study. The South African Journal of Higher Education, 12
(1): 117-121.
MOYO, C; DONN, G & HOUNSELL,D 1997: Academic development and strategic
change in higher education: A discussion Report of South African Association for
Academic Development Project: Johannesburg.
NATIONAL COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION. A Framework for
Transformation 1997: An overview of a policy framework for higher
education. 1-18p. Pretoria.
PRIOR, CF 1986: Technikon academic staff development. With special reference to
newly appointed staff. Pretoria: University of South Africa (M.ED. Dissertation).
QUEENEY, DS 1995: Assessing needs in continuing education. An essential tool for
quality improvement. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass.
ROTHWELL, WJ AND KAZANAS, HC 1998: Mastering instructional design process.
a systematic approach. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass.
ROGERS, A 1996: Teaching adults. Second edition. Buckingham: Open University
Press.
SHOR, I 1992: Empowering education: Critical teaching for social change. United
State of America: The university of Chicago Press.
SORIANO, FI 1995: Conducting needs assessment. A multidisciplinary approach.
Sage Publications: London.
SREDL, HJ & CHESNEY, CJ 1992: Needs assessment course book and Workshop.
United States of America: Human Resource Development Press.
47
VELLA, J 1994: Learning to Listen, Learning to teach: The power of dialogue in
educating adults. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
VELLA, J; BERARDINELLI, P & BURROW, J 1998: How do they know they know?
Evaluating adult learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
VISTA UNIVERSITY: LECTURERS GUIDE FOR THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION
1999: 1-11p. Pretoria.
VISTA UNIVERSITY: LECTURERS GUIDE FOR THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION
2000: 1-15p. Pretoria.
WARSHAUER, S 1988: Inside Training and Development: Creating Effective
Programs. United States of America: University Associates Press.
WEBB, G 1996: Understanding Staff Development. Buckingham: Open University
Press.
WLODKOWSKI, RJ & GINSBERG, MB 1995: Diversity and Motivation: Culturally
Responsive Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
WINBERG, C 1995: How to Teach Adults: The Teaching and Learning Series. Cape
Town: Juta & Company Ltd.
WITKIN, BR & ALTSCHULD, JW 1995: Planning and Conducting Needs Assessments.
A Practical Guide. London: Sage Publications.
ZUBER-SKERRITT, 0 1992: Professional Development in Higher Education. A
Theoretical framework for Action Research. London: Kogan Page.
48
APPENDIX: A
SAMPLE OF AN APPLICATION LETTER TO CONDUCT INTERVIEWS
TO: DR I NTSHOE THE PROGRAMME COORDINATOR EDUCATION DEPARTMENT SOWETO CAMPUS
REQUEST TO CONDUCT THE INTERVIEWS IN THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: SOWETO CAMPUS
Dear Mr Ntshoe
As you know that I am presently registered for a Masters' degree in Adult Education at
Rand Afrikaans University, I am also required to conduct research in partial fulfillment of
my degree. My study focuses specifically on academics, both males and females, who
are employed as academics for more than three years with the institution. My research
topic is: Academic staff developmental needs at a South African institution of Higher
Education, and is based specifically on academics in the Education Department, and
involves interviewing these academics.
I therefore request you to grant me permission to conduct the interviews in the
department
Thanking you in anticipation.
Valencia Mabalane (EMT) L 128 Ext. 210
49
APPENDIX B: SAMPLE OF A LETTER OF CONSENT TO INTERVIEW PARTICIPANTS
TO: ALL ACADEMICS IN THE SUB-FACULTY OF EDUCATION
FROM: MABALANE VT
DATE: 07 SEPTEMBER 2000
SUBJECT: REQUEST TO CONDUCT AN INTERVIEW WITH REGARD TO ACADEMIC STAFF DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS
Dear Sir/ Madam/ Doctor/ Prof.
I am writing to ask for your permission / consent to interview you with regard to my
research towards my Masters Degree in Adult Education and Training. My research is
based on the following question "What are developmental needs of academics in the
education department at Vista University Soweto Campus"? And the contributions
of your experiences with regard to academic staff development activities will be of great
value to this study.
The interview will be confidential and you will be allocated a pseudonym as a means of
protecting your identity. There after the results will be make known to you, that is, you
will receive a transcript of results. I will appreciate it if I can receive your response by
Thursday 14th September 2000.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Valencia Mabalane (EMT) Department of Professional Education
Ext. 210
I HEREBY GRANT YOU PERMISSION TO INTERVIEW ME.
SIGNED: DATE:
50
APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS
T/G/1
GETRUDE(G)
I: WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS YOU CURRENTLEY EXPERIENCE IN YOUR JOB AS
AN ACADEMIC?
G: The problems I experience have to do with lack of skills with regard to writing research papers
especially for journals and lack of skills in the in the writing of papers for conferences as well as
ideas and guidance as to how to present a paper at conference. People who have never been
involved in this profession people who come straight from varsity need some kind of orientation
with regard to first of all public speaking when they are in the lecture halls. They need some kind
of orientation with regard to designing of resource even if they have done it in their studies
degrees, to improve they still need to be trained with regard to designing and presentation of
resources. So I am looking at public speaking, designing of resources whether is a transparency,
whatever resources as well as the use of those resources. And by resources I mean teaching and
learning aids, eg. Transparencies or the use of overhead projectors. My academic need is to
upgrade or improve my computer skills. And that links with staff development because that will
have an impact on my preparations as well. Whether it could be conducted in the form of a
lecture or a workshop, whatever.
I: YOU SAID PEOPLE SHOULD BE TRAINED WITH REGARD TO PUBLIC SPEAKING.
WHERE DO YOU PUT YOURSELF WITH REGARD TO THAT?
G: I am actually included in that. I am talking about my own experience, I feel that because I came
straight from training I could have been given some kind of training that will empower me with
regard to public speaking.
51
T/G/2
I: EXPLAIN TO ME HOW MEETING YOUR NEEDS MIGHT CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR
DEVELOPMENT AS AN ACADEMIC?
G: It will mean that I will be more pro-active with writing of research, it also means that I will be in
the position to contribute to my field of specialization. I will be able to contribute to new ideas
and matters that concern me, especially educational management. And obviously, when I have
been trained to speak in public I will be able to teach and use the necessary teaching skills. I will
be in a position to project my voice properly and to speak with confidence.
I: HOW DO YOU THINK THESE NEEDS SHOULD BE MET?
G: The needs could be met in different ways, they could be met for example, through mentoring
where colleagues who already have experience in this field could mentor us those who do not
have the know how. It could be met through workshops, it could be met obviously, through one
attending conferences and seminars.
I: WHO DO YOU THINK SHOULD FUND THESE ACTIVITIES?
G: Funding is a problem. To go just to conference sometimes you have to dig in your own pocket.
The department will have to meet you half way or sometimes you have to pay three quarters of
the fee, so we have a problem with funding. You may have an idea of organizing a workshop but
may have stumbling blocks and you may be blocked because there is no money from the
department. Funding issue is a problem and is discouraging you may have motivation to attend
developmental activities but if you don't have money, you are going to loose out, you may not
be able to go to that conference, especially if is far away due to admission fees and other costs.
So it can be a stumbling block, as it is now a stumbling block.
52
T/G/3
I would like to see funds available for staff development to take place. I would also like to see
training being done on computer skills particularly on our campus. I would like to see funds
available for staff development to take place.
I: YOU SAY THAT YOU WILL LIKE FUNDS TO BE AVAILABLE FOR STAFF
DEVELOPMENT. WHAT THEN IS STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACCORDING TO YOU?
G: My understanding of staff development is that it is empowering your employees where they lack,
for example it can be in teaching skills, presentation skills and so forth.
I: WHAT POSITIVE INFLUENCE DO YOU THINK YOUR MET NEEDS WILL HAVE IN
THE EDUCATION FACULTY?
G: In meeting these needs they will also be meeting the mission and vision of tour faculty, where
academic excellence is of paramount importance so if I were to do those research, papers. I will
also be in line with the faculty's vision and mission, and also be contributing to the broader field
of my study as well with new ideas that will also be in position to produce quality students
through my new knowledge and through my research. And if I perform like that and when
students gain from my performance more will register for my course and the department will
grow. In other words my growth is directly interconnected with the departmental growth, one
cannot separate the two, if I do not grow a number of things will suffer.
I: HAVE YOU ATTENDED ANY STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR
PROGRAMMES? YES/NO. HOW DID THESE STAFF DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMME HELP IN ENHANCING YOUR WORK AS AN ACADEMIC?
G: I would say yes. I have attended some of the workshops on OBE. I have attended a lot of
workshops. Recently is the one on Outcomes- Based Education that directly links with our
curriculum but besides that eg. Computer courses no. But there was some talk of computer
literacy being introduced for staff but I do not know why that was never implemented.
53
T/G/4
There were sessions that were arranged for staff to attend. The programme met my needs to a
certain extent, but I would have loved to have a follow up, to say you have attended this
workshop, have you practiced or have you implemented it in your own lectures or whatever,
maybe a follow up would have addressed some of the problems that we have with OBE. But
there was no follow-up. I do not know whether this falls under staff development, but we started
a programme with regard to the writing of academic papers and the presentation of conference
papers but unfortunately that was not finished, it was just left hanging, we never had time to make
a follow-up of writing or presenting. And because it was not finished I cannot say it has enhanced
my work because as of now I have not written a paper for a journal and I have not as yet presented
a paper at a conference, so I am still where I was before we started.
I: TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU THINK YOUR NEEDS AS AN ACADEMIC SHOULD
INFORM THE PLANNING OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR
PROGRAMME YOU ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND?
G: I think if people talk of development, they should not assume the needs of the people. They
should actually go to the various stakeholders, academics, professional staff, administration staff,
whoever is involved and asked them what their needs are. Then those needs of stakeholders will
give them a direction of where to go in this development. There should definitely be needs
analysis of all people involved.
54
T/J/1
JOY (1)
WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS YOU CURRENTLEY EXPERIENCE IN YOUR JOB AS
AN ACADEMIC?
The problems that I am experiencing as an academic are that of no support. Where you find that
as an academic I do not have any support. When I have to go to a lecture hall and I have to use
an overhead projector, I find that there are no plug or electricity available. And if you ask for help
it takes along time.
EXPLAIN TO ME HOW MEETING YOUR NEEDS MIGHT CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR
DEVELOPMENT AS AN ACADEMIC
J: If these things are available that will enable me to concentrate on things that will enrich my
students rather than running around the campus looking for help. If you get enough support you
are able to go out and look for more information instead of doing technical work.
HOW DO YOU THINK THESE NEEDS SHOULD BE MET?
J: There has to be a support system where you know that if you need help, when a plug is not
working, whom do you contact and get help from. If a system is down you need to know exactly
who to contact and get help. At the moment there is no proper help, one has to call Pretoria to
get the Soweto system working. This impact negative on you if you have work to prepare on your
computer. One has to wait for Pretoria to sanction a technician, who will take his time to come
and fix it.
JOY, YOU ARE SPEAKING OF A SYSTEM THAT IS SOMETIMES DOWN. WHAT
EXACTLY ARE YOU REFERRING TO?
I am talking about the computers.
55
T/J/2
WHAT POSITIVE INFLUENCE DO YOU THINK YOUR MET NEEDS WILL HAVE IN
THE EDUCATION FACULTY?
As I said before the positive impact that it will have is that as academics we will be able to enrich
our students and we will be able to concentrate on things that are more academic.
HAVE YOU ATTENDED ANY STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR
PROGRAMMES? YES/NO. HOW DID THESE STAFF DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMME HELP IN ENHANCING YOUR WORK AS AN ACADEMIC?
Yes, I have and the ones that I attended were absolutely lecturing skills and I was able to employ
these skills in my lectures and I saw some progress in my students' activities.
TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU THINK YOUR NEEDS AS AN ACADEMIC SHOULD
INFORM THE PLANNING OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR
PROGRAMMES YOU ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND?
My needs have to inform the planning of all staff development programmes. I personally believe
that there has to be needs analysis on the staff so that who ever has to plan a developmental
activity knows exactly what we need. For instance, what comes to mind is research, that is where
I would like to be developed and this has been lacking thus far. The university has not trained
me with regard to research.
THEN HOW DID YOU ACQUIRE THE KNOWLEDGE YOU HAVE GOT ABOUT
RESEARCH?
From a colleague, there was a request from within our sub-faculty that those who are more
experienced should help those who are lacking by holding seminars or workshops but it did not
last nor bear any fruits because it was abandoned and never continued or completed. So I had to
work hard myself
56
T/C/1
CAROL (C)
I: WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS YOU CURRENTLY EXPERIENCE IN YOUR JOB AS
AN ACADEMIC?
C: The main problem for me is the fact that my seniors in the department do not care about staff
development because I have already found out that it is very difficult for me to do research. And
I would have loved them to sort of design a course that could help develop some of us as far as
how to go about with our research problems. They speak of action research and I have found that
that is not easy for me to do it. My second problem is of management speaking of retrenchment
without having prepared people for it and they do not even show remorse.
I: EXPLAIN TO ME HOW MEETING YOUR NEEDS MIGHT CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR
DEVELOPMENT AS AN ACADEMIC
C: The University needs a number of accredited articles to be written. Those that will be received
in accredited journals, and if for instance they were to design a course around research and how
to go about, then one would be able to produce a number of articles that would be received in
accredited journals. And that way you will find yourself happier at work, and when you are
happier you will be even more productive.
HOW DO YOU THINK THESE NEEDS SHOULD BE MET?
C: Perhaps we as staff need to write a memo to our Dean of faculty and inform her about our needs.
And perhaps she can just appoint people who have knowledge in research procedures to design
a course for us, and they could give that to us in form of a week session.
57
T/C/2
I: YOU ARE TALKING IN TERMS OF "WE" WHICH REFERS TO A GROUP OF
PEOPLE, WHAT IF OTHER ACADEMICS DO NOT HAVE THE SAME NEEDS AS
YOURS?
C: I have actually realized that we are quite a group it is not only myself as far as that is concerned
and maybe is just that we are quiet about it.
I: WHAT POSITIVE INFLUENCE DO YOU THINK YOUR MET NEEDS WILL HAVE IN
THE EDUCATION FACULTY?
C: It will actually bring money to the department, for instance we dot have carpets in our offices we
do not even have a resource center for books in our department. If we receive academic visitors
in our department you find that we do not even have cutlery to serve them.
I: HAVE YOU ATTENDED ANY STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR
PROGRAMMES? YES/NO. HOW DID THESE STAFF DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMMES HELP IN ENHANCING YOUR WORK AS AN ACADEMIC?
C: I have attended it was long ago and it was something on Outcomes-Based Education but I found
that I could have used that time much better, sitting in my office and doing something, because
it was boring. I think number one they do not ask what we want. And when they employ a
person they should ask what that person can offer so that it can match our needs. They just bring
people here and you find that what they bring is what you know much better. I just argued with
that person and I did not go to the second session. It did not enhance my work instead it did the
opposite, it made me angry because I felt that my intelligence was undermined.
I: YOU HAVE BEEN REFERING TO "THEY", WHO ARE "THEY"?
C: I mean the faculty managers, Deans and Head of department and university managers.
58
/A
T/C/3
I: YOU HIGHLIGHTED THAT YOUR NEEDS WERE NOT CONSIDERED WHEN THAT
SEMINAR WAS PLANNED THEN. TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU THINK YOUR
NEEDS AS AN ACADEMIC SHOULD INFORM THE PLANNING OF STAFF
DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR PROGRAMMES YOU ARE EXPECTED TO
ATTEND?
C: I think in the first place before somebody is invited to give us any course or training, they should
first go around and write all our needs. And when they have got that it is the only time that they
can come and give us the appropriate seminars and courses that match our needs not just anything
based on assumed needs.
59
T/L/1
LUCKY (L)
WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS YOU CURRENTLY EXPERIENCE IN YOUR JOB AS AN ACADEMIC?
L: I would like them to address academic writing because I think that it is very important to us as
University lectures, we are expected to write articles, writing of books and in my case I still need
help in that, especially with academic writing.
HOW DO YOU THINK THESE NEEDS SHOULD BE MET?
L: I would encourage senior staff members and not on an adhock basis but on an ongoing basis, to
help us or mentor us, so that we know that we have access to people we can go to at any time.
And also another thing is that if you want to do something that would improve you and your
work funding should not be a problem. If you can put down on paper that this is what I want to
attend and that these are the reasons, it should not be a burden for you to go after people begging
for money.
I: WHAT POSITIVE INFLUENCE DO YOU THINK YOUR MET NEEDS WILL HAVE IN
THE EDUCATION FACULTY?
L: I will be able to write papers and publish books. And if I publish the department will gain money
and status. I will also feel free and confident when I am with other lecturers.
I: HAVE YOU ATTENDED ANY STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR
PROGRAMMES? YES/NO. HOW DID THESE STAFF DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMMES HELP IN ENHANCING YOUR WORK AS AN ACADEMIC?
L: I have in the past three years on Outcome-Based Education (OBE) and I have attended some
which were organised by the Staff Development Unit by Mr Beneke. As I have said that maybe
a need analysis is necessary. With the OBE workshops they were a repetition. There are people
who came, I cannot remember the company and just repeated what we knew.
60
T/L/2
And we had also workshops from people in Australia and that was still a repetition. And at least
if we were asked if we need this, so that they know exactly what we need to improve on, not to
have a repetition. OBE workshop were helpful to me in a sense that I needed to know more and
also read more on it. Therefore the impact that they have is that they made me to more on OBE
and I am presently writing a research paper based on OBE. And then the institutional workshop
where they were talking about a Tagging one word of teaching innovative ways of handling your
children.
I: YOU SAID YOU LAST ATTENDED STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES THREE
YEARS AGO. THEN, HOW HAVE YOU BEEN EMPOWERING YOURSELF?
L: Not with the Vista's help, I had workshops outside Vista which out of my own I attended because
there has been a "kill" in the past two years. No mentoring or guidance, the one time I received
mentoring was in 1997 when I was writing a paper with some of the colleagues in my department.
And then, this year our Programme Co-ordinator started having meetings where we would
discuss whatever we wrote, that is the type of mentoring I ever had, which was not followed up.
I: TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU THINK THE NEEDS OF ACADEMIC SHOULD INFORM
THE PLANNING OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR PROGRAMMES YOU
ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND?
L: I think needs analysis is very necessary so that whoever plans for staff development will know
what the requirements are, unlike just putting together a programme that will not benefit the
people. Maybe I have been to that programme before or I have knowledge of it, therefore an
analysis will sort of give whoever is planning an idea of what needs to be done and also address
what I need to improve on.
61
T/L/3
I: HOW DO YOU VIEW FUNDINDG OF ACADEMIC STAFF DEVELOPMENT
ACTIVITIES BY THE UNIVERSITY?
L: Funding is very poor, we struggle to get funds like when we have to go to a conference we have
to struggle. For instance, this year we had a maximum of five hundred and forty rands only
which is just not realistic because there was a conference we had to go therefore we had to
negotiate with other staff members to get their share of funding. It is a real problem. The lack
of funding discourages you from improving yourself.
62
T/F/1
FREDA (R)
I: WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS YOU CURRENTLY EXPERIENCE IN YOUR JOB AS AN ACADEMIC?
F: I think my academic needs will be specifically programmes that one has to develop like the
modules that we have to write. I know in other companies they deal with stress handling time
management things that you know but are personal enrichment.
I: HOW DO YOU THINK THESE NEEDS SHOULD BE MET?
F: I feel I also want to mention that if you want to write study manuals and modules that you must
attend the latest seminars and conference to update yourself in the latest research findings in this
field. Otherwise you cannot write quality study manuals and modules. So, actually the
department must make funds available for module writers to attend these conferences and
seminars to update themselves with new research findings in these fields.
I: HAVE YOU ATTENDED ANY STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR
PROGRAMMES? YES/NO. HOW DID THESE STAFF DEVELOPMENT HELP IN
ENHANCING YOUR WORK AS AN ACADEMIC?
F: Yes, I attended one, that was a computer development course, using the computer and different
computer courses. I can't remember the other. That course was very useful because we use the
computer everyday and our skills in this regard are very important. But that is not the only
development programme that we need it does not address all our needs. Now I remember the
other developmental programme I attended. There was one programme I think in July this year
at Head Office in how to help Masters and Doctorate students in compiling the proposal and
helping them with their studies, but it was a very short course. I think something like that will
be helpful. And I feel it should be developed further, especially dealing with Masters and
Doctorate students one actually needs the skills to help them deal with qualitative research.
63
T/F/2
I: TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU THINK THE NEEDS OF ACADEMIC SHOULD INFORM
THE PLANNING OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR PROGRAMMES YOU
ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND?
F: My personal need is part of my academic because the one relate to the other. If I am well skilled,
I can always carry that knowledge and skills on my students. They are part and parcel of one
another.
I: DO YOU THINK THAT NEEDS ASSESSMENT PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN
PLANNING FOR ACADEMIC STAFF DEVELOPMENT?
F: I think needs assessment play an important role because everybody will differ from another in
terms of needs. All academic staff members will need different types of enrichment and
development programmes that will suit their personal needs.
I: HOW LONG DID THE M AND D WORKSHOP TAKE AND DO YOU THINK THE
TIME ALLOCATED WAS SUFFICIENT?
F: I took only one morning, about three hours the time was too little I wish it was conducted for at
least five days.
I: WHAT IMPROVEMENTS DO YOU WISH TO SEE WITH REGARD TO THE
PLANNING OF ACADEMIC STAFF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES?
F: I think more money must be available for Staff development so that one can actually attend
the staff development programmes that fit our specific needs. There are a lot of development
programmes in the market that are available but, seeing that we do not have enough funds to
attend, it is very difficult to attend those programmes.
64
T/Z/1
ZINTLE (Z)
I: WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS YOU CURRENTLY EXPERIENCE
IN YOUR JOB AS AN ACADEMIC?
Z: My problems have to do with writing research papers and publishing papers.
I: HOW DO YOU THINK THESE NEEDS SHOULD BE MET?
Z: The staff which is more professional or who are professional in research should run a program
such as writing articles, publishing articles as one of the colleagues has already done. We do not
need to get people from outside, the people from inside can assist us in developing our research
skills. I think initially in the very first meeting or before we close for the holidays we should plan
to have programmes such as staff development including planning. We should have staff
development maybe once in three months or once in six months, we should plan ahead.
I: WHAT POSITIVE INFLUENCE DO YOU THINK YOUR MET NEEDS WILL HAVE IN
THE EDUCATION FACULTY?
Z: I will be a true academic, I will be able to contribute to my field of specialization. It is not easy
to engage in academic discussion if you know that you lack some where, but if I can posses the
two mentioned skills I will be able to share my knowledge and ideas with the whole world
through written articles.
I: TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU THINK YOUR NEEDS AS AN ACADEMIC SHOULD
INFORM THE PLANNING OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR
PROGRAMMES YOU ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND?
Z: To answer your question I will first tell you what I believe staff development is. It is a
programme that is meant to improve the skills of lectures or people working in a particular
department, programmes such as career development, empowering staff, like computer literacy,
curriculum development like if there is a programme being
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T/Z/2
implemented, running workshops, for curriculum development or OBE. Thus, I think there
should be a planning of needs assessment because planners do not know our individual
backgrounds, what we actually need as staff because people have been exposed to computers and
some never from their basic degrees being exposed to computers or Internet or any sort of
machinery.
I: HAVE YOU ATTENDED ANY STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR
PROGRAMMES? YES/ NO. HOW DID THESE STAFF DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMMES HELP IN ENHANCING YOUR WORK AS AN ACADEMIC?
Z: Yes, I have attended a computer workshop on word perfect, it was in 1994 and I have also
attended various workshops. In 1997 when the curriculum 2005 was introduced, the workshop
was run here at Vista, and various workshops that the Australian people came to run here at Vista.
I have also attended one workshop that dealt with how to write manuals, it was ran by Mr
Mitchell, teaching us on how to write manuals for distance education so that we should be able
to write manuals.
I: HOW DID THESE STAFF DEVELOPMENT HELP IN ENHANCING YOUR WORK AS
AN ACADEMIC?
Z: I think they are too short and there is no follow up, they do not know whether they have been
effective or not especially the computer one was too short like two days. And I think we needed
like a week and there was no follow up to check if we have a problem. So it is a waste of time
to attend short programmes were no follow up is done. I am not satisfied, I think there should be
more staff programs especially that we are exchanging our education systems, so there are so
many programmes we need to be involved in. Funds have to be accessible to all those people who
want to improve themselves.
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T/Z/3
I: WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY "FUNDS HAVE TO BE ACCECSSIBLE TOALL?
Z: Funding is very minimal especially when we have to attend a conference to present papers. There
are lots of protocols followed, you are told about the budget that is not there, or that is minimal
not covering everybody. In other words the budget stifles our progress.
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T/K/1
KIT (K)
I: WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS YOU CURRENTLY EXPERIENCE
IN YOUR JOB AS AN ACADEMIC?
K: Writing skills and research, these are my main problems.
I: HOW DO YOU THINK THESE NEEDS SHOULD BE MET?
K: They can be met if the university can conduct a need analysis and then plan workshops according
to the identified needs
I: WHAT POSITIVE INFLUENCE DO YOU THINK YOUR MET NEEDS WILL HAVE IN
THE EDUCATION FACULTY?
K: I will be independent from others, I usually nag people to help me with writing skills, but I know
that if I possess those skills I will be able to work on my own without bothering others. You
know that as academics we have to attend conferences and publish paper, acquisition of these
skills will help me to do that.
I: TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU THINK THE NEEDS OF ACADEMICS SHOULD
INFORM THE PLANNING OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR
PROGRAMMES YOU ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND?
K: As far as my needs are concerned it is important that when planning is done regarding my needs
whatever they bring it should be in line with my needs in that particular area. As I said earlier, if
the staff which is the target of the development, are consulted and they gave their input, I believe
that can be a great improvement. And the participants will be enthusiastic because they will be
doing what they needed. I remember with OBE programme I gained a lot and it was fruitful but
I realised that some members of staff were not interested in OBE, they were bored, so if they
could be consulted, it can be fruitful.
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T/K/2
I: HAVE YOU ATTENDED ANY STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR
PROGRAMMES? YES/ NO. HOW DID THESE STAFF DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMMES HELP IN ENHANCING YOUR WORK AS AN ACADEMIC?
K: I attended many of OBE, I have been exposed to 3 or 4 different group of staff developments
maybe they are even more than four. The other one was on the writing of skills regarding
manuals for distance education students. The OBE one was just an introduction of OBE the
philosophy and principles, how does OBE begin. I think they were good, earlier on I said I
attended 3 or 4 but I know that some are coming to my mind they were many. I remember when
I started in this institution I attended 3 on staff development. There was one on presentation of
lecturers to students it were very good, I remember one of those was about communication as a
lecturer or as a teacher that you need to be a good communicator so it was very intriguing.
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T/R/1
RONALD (R)
I: WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS YOU CURRENTLY EXPERIENCE IN YOUR FIELD AS
AN ACADEMIC?
R: Apart from the question of using media in general I think that there is the first area which needs
to be addressed because technology is moving so fast. We also need to keep abreast in order to
ensure that we are at par with other institutions who are using the telematic teaching computer and
so forth. That is the first area I feel needs to be addressed. The other problem will be the latest
methodologies that are being used in other universities, which we also need to keep abreast with
and know more about them.
I: HOW DO YOU THINK THESE NEEDS SHOULD BE MET?
R: In my particular area it is important that I should constantly be keeping abreast with the latest
publications, attending seminars, conferences, and academic meetings. So maybe there is a need
for the kind of exchange of staff because since I have been here none of us has had the
opportunity for exchange of staff amongst the institution in Gauteng.
I: WHAT POSITIVE INFLUENCE DO YOU THINK YOUR MET NEED/S WILL HAVE
IN THE EDUCATION FACULTY?
R: My needs will have a positive role in the sense that I will be sufficiently competent in my area
of training teachers so that in turn they will be able to play their role.
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T/R/2
I: TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU THINK YOUR NEEDS AS AN ACADEMIC SHOULD
INFORM THE PLANNING OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR
PROGRAMMES YOU ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND?
R: To a large extent, one should not assume what the needs of people who are to be developed.
Maybe people should be requested to state their needs, it maybe either in the form of a
questionnaire or indicating by writing or one to one interviews before programmes can be planned
for them for academic staff development. In the education field there are so many changes
happening, as you might be aware, that there has been discussions around the curriculum issues,
so we should train teachers for the relevant needs of the school. And there are markets out there,
so one has to relate the kind of staff development not to the needs of his institution only, but also
to the needs of the markets out there. Staff development is very important to all organizations to
ensure that they are current within whatever field they are involved in. Staff development is
critical for any profession in order for one not to rust.
I: HAVE YOU ATTENDED ANY STAFF DEVEOLPMENT ACTIVITIES OR
PROGRAMMES? YES/NO. HOW DID THESE STAFF DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMMES HELP IN ENHANCING YOUR WORK AS AN ACADEMIC?
R: Yes I have attended, but it was on my own initiative. But it was not planned by the university but
by other academic institutions and associations. I found that they addressed my needs in terms
of staff development and therefore I was interested and thus attended them. I have been employed
in this institution for 14years and throughout these years nothing in terms of staff development
has been planned for us. Except that the ones planned were general to all staff on this campus or
never materialised, like the computer programme. The immediate response was rejection of that
kind of staff development or if it is compulsory, one would go there not for the interest of what
is happening but for the mere fact of showing a face at that kind of a staff development
programme.
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T/R/3
The first thing is that when planning for these programmes the planners need to identify our needs or let
them know what our needs are before those programmes can be planned or implemented. Then,
thereafter there is a need for the people planning the programme to look at our schedules to ensure that
they don't interfere with our normal teaching or working programmes. They should also look at the
question of logistics in terms of venue and other things to ensure that it is conducive and that there will
be a conducive atmosphere for such staff development programme to occur.
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T/P/1
PINKY (P)
I: WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS YOU CURRENTLY EXPERIENCE IN YOUR FIELD AS
AN ACADEMIC?
P: Research and writing, to be exposed to more current research techniques that can be employed
so as to elicit from the group that you are working with. To elicit their real needs or their real
problems after one has determined what problems are. To stick to Empirical, evidence only, at
times doesn't make your research findings that valid. But your usage of a number of research
techniques especially because we a Human Science Faculty, we need elicit within our respondents
the real thing, the real experiences, and through empirical evidence only, it will not be a true
reflection of what you actually want to find out from your respondents. You should not depend
only on one research technique, a combination of research techniques and knowledge of the most
recent techniques I think would make us more of a research orientated academic staff that even
has the ability to give back to our students the very current information.
I: HOW DO YOU THINK THESE NEEDS SHOULD BE MET?
P: According to my understanding, staff development within Higher Education staff development
should entail upgrading, especially junior staff members. Secondly, I feel it has to guide and
prepare them for their academic qualification in relation to what is done internationally. One thing
that I would personally appreciate is first to determine what are the needs of individual staff
members and then collate similar needs, thereafter design appropriate staff development
programme according to those needs of various staff members with the department.
I: WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY UPGRADING?
P: I mean bettering my academic skills. Staff development should actually serve as a prerequisite
because if you do not constantly upgrade and your knowledge base there is no way in which you
are going to equip your students adequately.
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T/P/2
I: WHAT POSITIVE INFLUENCE DO YOU THINK YOUR MET NEED/S WILL HAVE
IN THE EDUCATION FACULTY?
P: I mean I will be so well equipped such that whatever I would have gained from the developmental
programme I will be able to transfer it to my students, for example new teaching strategies will
help me become a better lecturer.
I: TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU THINK YOUR NEEDS AS AN ACADEMIC SHOULD
INFORM THE PLANNING OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR
PROGRAMMES YOU ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND?
P: To a very large extent because I know exactly which aspects are my weak points, and you know,
if I could be given a chance like to list my needs so that staff development programmes could be
structured according to the needs, then we could ensure quality education to our students.
I: HAVE YOU ATTENDED ANY STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR
PROGRAMMES? YES / NO. HOW DID THE STAFF DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMMES HELP IN ENHANCING YOUR WORK AS AN ACADEMIC?
P: Yes, I would actually say that there is one that stands out. But on the overall I do not think that
the staff development programmes arranged by this institution are adequate. The one that I feel
has a direct bearing on my teaching is the one that we were invited to another country to go and
view principles of Outcomes Based Education, and to which extent can it be used and whether
is necessary in higher education institutions. Otherwise Vista has not gone out of its way to firstly
find out what the staff needs are in order to arrange appropriate staff development programme.
And it has been an individual attempt to go to other institution like UNISA, RAU, and WITS to
attend those staff development because you feel I lack intensity in this area and in that area, you
feel that your weak points are being addressed and attended to.
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T/P/3
It really changed my perception towards Outcomes Based Education (OBE), especially seeing
it done in a practical situation. And it related closely to my own personal research that I did,
which shows the importance of allowing a learner to construct knowledge himself So seeing OBE
classroom or experiencing an OBE classroom in real life situation made me aware that whatever
is written theoretically can be done in a practical situation. And the other thing is that it made me
realize that, Science Education in particular can really move from being offered in a traditional
to a more contemporary way of teaching. It really changed my mode of delivery that is the mode
of teaching.
I: HOW DO YOU VIEW FUNDING OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES BY THE UNIVERSITY?
P: As far as our institution is concerned that has been a very sore point because we are always
restricted and because of the knowledge that we know there are no funds, you tend even to lack
the motivation to go forward because what if you tell yourself you will be attending this
conference and then you are told that you don't have sufficient funds. So that is a serious problem
that needs to be considered.
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T/Q/1
QUEEN (Q)
I: WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS YOU CURRENTLY EXPERIENCE IN YOUR FIELD AS
AN ACADEMIC?
Q: I need a lot of enlightenment into research, you know, action research they talk about it but there
is no in-service training. I need to know a lot, I want something with regard to assessment of
OBE because as much as there are lots of books but there are still problems of really coming to
grips at a practical level. And I need somebody or we together coming up and developing
something that we could help our students with to improve their language because there is a dire
need when I look at them. I have an endless list, I want to believe that as an academic, staff
development for instance for me, now that we have curriculum 2005 which is now curriculum 21,
whatever, and I feel that I need to be developed so that I keep my students informed.
I: WHAT POSITIVE INFLUENCE DO YOU THINK YOUR MET NEED/S WILL HAVE
IN THE EDUCATION FACULTY?
Q: I regard needs assessment very important. I feel that without it the institution is not well informed
because when the academics are well developed, and their needs are met then they will be very
productive in the institution.
HAVE YOU ATTENDED ANY STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR
PROGRAMMES? YES / NO. HOW DID THE STAFF DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMME HELP IN ENHANCING YOUR WORK AS AN ACADEMIC?
Q: I would not say yes or no, but perhaps I should say there was a particular time something light
like development, when the managers realised that they needed to bring in VUDEC which is a
distance education of this institution. And once they realised that the full-time campuses do not
know anything about writing distance material, then they came with in-service training, but it was
from their side, they felt that need.
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T/Q/2
And I would say it was a top-down decision. So I really do not know how to clarify it, whether
to view it as staff development or not because I was not satisfied with it in the sense that there
were many questions that remained for me to ask after it was completed. There were certain
things I would have liked them to explain, but because it was packed and it had to run for a certain
period according to the way that they thought it should be, I had just to sit within that particular
period and internalise whatever they had. But if they perhaps would have came back to me and
said what is it that you really liked on the same programme, I could have asked the questions.
Meaning that they did not consider our needs, no need assessment was done. The other one is on
OBE. There are more, but this one stands out. I must say to a certain extent, just a certain section
thereof, enhanced my work in the sense that I was able when I was designing the modules for
Northern Sotho methodology to implement some of the good things that really came from these
programmes. But as I said, I would still reiterate that if they had come and said "Queen" we are
coming with distance education and we would like to know what is it that you would like to
know, I would have came with a number of questions, endless questions. And maybe it could
have actually made it much better because when I prepared the modules, I had to do a lot of
research on my own which was unnecessary and time wasting. If they had done needs assessment
initially, I would not have gone back again.
I: TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU THINK YOUR NEEDS AS AN
ACADEMIC SHOULD INFORM THE PLANNING OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT
ACTIVITIES OR PROGRAMMES YOU ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND?
Q:
I believe that it must be needs that cover academic leisure and holidays, because sometimes I feel
this institution regard people as machines that should just go on without any rest. Before they put
any programme into practice, they must first come to us. They should have came to Soweto
campus and asked us as to what we really need to know about distance education and the type of
material that we must use for distancing. Then when they are ready, then they could go and
prepare.
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T/Q/3
But they should not really ruin the programme just within the particular time frame which they
decide, you know, which is not decided by the process. The process itself should determine how
long it should take. I am not saying we should stay there forever, but I should suppose that until
reasonable time, not like one day and we have got everything in place, by the end of the day you
do not know what was happening.
I: HOW DO YOU VIEW FUNDING OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES BY THE UNIVERSITY?
Q: I can tell you that I am very dissatisfied about that. I think the institution does not know that we
are part of the production machine. They put money into us and then they are sure that at the end
of the day we produce good students and these students go out into the field and impress people
and more students will come to Vista. But they are putting so little money, for instance, it had
gone down now, they gave me only R620.00 and I had to pay R1700,00 for the flight, pay
R780.00 for staying there and when I look at all that, I am saying if I did not put that into myself,
I would not have had the experience that I have now, after listening to so many papers. And that
type of listener-ship could have been exposed to all type of staff members, not only to one person
but they make it very impossible, I had to dig down my pocket to develop myself.
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T/D/1
DORIS ( D)
I: WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS YOU CURRENTLEY EXPERIENCE IN YOUR JOB AS
AN ACADEMIC?
D: Ja, one would assume that I know it all, Ja I don't think so. I think, that is quite something, what
are my personal needs? I think basically it is to know how to get information especially with our
limited library, it is not easy to, through all my studies I have been able to go to very well
equipped libraries. Now I think on our campus we need to use the Internet it is not always easy.
The Internet is not always easily accessible there are power failures when you are right in there,
or you are restricted for some reasons and I think that would be a need for me if I want to be there
and do the work there. I have a technological need and I need to keep abreast with the demands
of the outside world.
HOW DO YOU THINK THESE NEEDS SHOULD BE MET?
D: I think we started in the early years with someone to prepare a paper and read it first to staff that
would develop. Especially when you just started here and that sort of phased out. I think because
we geared towards specifically publishing of articles I should basically think that where it starts,
writing, articles with someone and then you read as if you are at a conference that has never
happened and if that happens it would help us to develop academically.
I: EXPLAIN TO ME HOW MEETING YOUR NEEDS MIGHT CONTRIBUTE TO
DEVELOPMENT AS AN ACADEMIC?
D: It will definitely make me a better professional who is well informed and who has the capacity
to build others. In this way the department will also benefit tremendously.
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T/D/2
I: TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU THINK YOUR NEEDS AS AN ACADEMIC
SHOULD INFORM THE PLANNING OF STAFFDEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES
OR PROGRAMMES YOU ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND?
D: I think it is extremely important because many are times people would not analyse what is
needed or try to find out what is needed. I also think you cannot develop a program without
exactly knowing who needs what.
I: HAVE YOU ATTENDED ANY STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR
PROGRAMMES? YES/NO. HOW DID THESE STAFF DEVELOPMENT
RPROGRAMME HELP IN ENHANCING WORK AS AN ACADEMIC?
D: Never, since the first orientation.
I: HOW DO YOU EMPOWER YOURSELF THEN AS AN ACADEMIC?
D: Mostly it will be in consultation with our Head of Department who is on campus if there is
anything I don't know how to do. For example, how to write an article for whatever journal
I would consult him and I think that is the only positive thing that has ever happened to me
but nothing official. I tried to consult internally with my colleagues to develop myself.
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