From introduction to institutionalisation : the process of establishing new teaching & learning methodologies in vocational education and training
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Authors
Mead Richardson, Alison
Issue Date
2013-02
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Change management , Distance learning , E-learning , Botswana , Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) , Interpretive , Case study , Bureaucracy , Organisational culture , Diffusion of innovation
Alternative Title
Abstract
As new teaching and learning technologies begin to challenge the boundaries between
time and place, distance and elearning are becoming mainstream approaches to
increase access and improve quality in post-secondary education. Educators and
educational managers are being challenged by the need to manage technology
integration within institutions and within education systems.
In 2007, the Government of Botswana established a new technical college with the
specific mandate to expand technical and vocational education and training (TVET)
provision by introducing distance and elearning programme delivery. This thesis reports
on the findings of a case study undertaken during the first two years of the life of the
college. The study aimed to identify the organisational structures and change processes
needed for the successful implementation of distance and elearning and to discover
how these structures and processes can be best managed.
The field work was carried out within an interpretive paradigm in a longitudinal case
study over 30 months. The approach was ethnographic and the data collection methods
included documentary analysis and participant observation. Focussed interviews were
carried out with a purposive sample of key respondents in order to further explore
observations.
Different theoretical and practical models of technology integration were investigated and the MIT 90s model was considered to be the most applicable and pragmatic.
Theories of organisational change were researched to help understand the process.
Lewin’s seminal work on field theory, group dynamics and the 3-step change model with
the notion of driving and restraining forces on change gave a framework against which
to analyse the process of change. The findings detail a change process which features a lack of preparation, perceived
lack of management commitment by staff and poor timing in a top down approach to
introducing distance and flexible learning. The findings show how an external group of
change agents working as technical experts within clearly defined policy objectives and
facilitating extensive staff development, were an insufficient driving force for change
against the restraining forces of a bureaucratic organisational culture, strong mental
models of traditional teaching and perceived lack of leadership.
Description
Citation
Mead Richardson, Alison (2013) From introduction to institutionalisation : the process of establishing new teaching & learning methodologies in vocational education and training, University of South Africa, Pretoria, <http://hdl.handle.net/10500/11891>
Publisher
License
University of South Africa