Research in Social Sciences and Technology
Office address of Editor-in-Chief: Yesilova Mah. Caldiran Cad. 29/11 Etimesgut-Ankara-Turkey-- E-ISSN registered office located at Den Haag Netherlands, 2496 NL,Netherlands
Articles
295 Documents
<![CDATA[Investigating the Effects of E-Learning as a Method of Curriculum Dissemination for Rural TVET College Students ]]>
<![CDATA[Makhosi P. Madimabe]]>;
<![CDATA[Bunmi I. Omodan]]>
<![CDATA[ Research in Social Sciences and Technology Vol 6 No 3 (2021): Research in Social Sciences and Technology ]]>
Publisher : <![CDATA[Research in Social Sciences and Technology- OpenED Network ]]>
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DOI: 10.46303/ressat.2021.27
<![CDATA[The study investigates the effects of e-learning as an alternative form of curriculum dissemination for rural Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college students. This study adopted connectivism theory, which enabled lecturers to reflect and adapt to how learning has changed and the accompanying implications of designing the spaces and structures to the current mode of learning. The researcher made use of two research methods to gather data; phone interviews and questionnaires. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20.0, Office Word format. The results indicated that the unavailability of technological resources, lack of financial support from single parents’ side due to socio-economic factors, and child-headed families hinder the correct implementation of e-learning and make it difficult to reach its objectives.]]>
<![CDATA[Accounting Teachers’ Voices on Factors Affecting Online Teaching during the 4th Industrial Revolution in the Face of COVID-19 in Selected High Schools in the Eastern Cape, South Africa ]]>
<![CDATA[Melikhaya Skhephe]]>;
<![CDATA[Christabel Mantlana]]>
<![CDATA[ Research in Social Sciences and Technology Vol 6 No 3 (2021): Research in Social Sciences and Technology ]]>
Publisher : <![CDATA[Research in Social Sciences and Technology- OpenED Network ]]>
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DOI: 10.46303/ressat.2021.32
<![CDATA[The most prominent debate in South Africa is how teachers will provide instruction online. The purposes of this article was to explore Accounting teachers’ voices on factors affecting online teaching. To this end, the researchers employed a qualitative approach and a case study research design. Interviews were used as a method to collect data from 10 Accounting teachers who were purposively selected. Thematic data analysis was used. The results revealed that, Accounting teachers are lacking required knowledge and skills needed to facilitate technology learning in their classrooms. Results further reveal that, online teaching arrived at an awkward moment when teachers were faced with COVID-19 pandemic. The study concludes that teachers’ voices play an important role in any proposed changes in the classroom. The Eastern Cape Province where the study was conducted should quickly roll out infrastructure at all schools aiming to support online classrooms. It is recommended in this paper that teachers need to be workshopped in online teaching in order for them to perform effectively.]]>
<![CDATA[The Political Awareness and Participation of University Students in post-Apartheid South Africa ]]>
<![CDATA[Kazeem Ajasa Badaru]]>;
<![CDATA[Emmanuel Olusola Adu]]>
<![CDATA[ Research in Social Sciences and Technology Vol 6 No 3 (2021): Research in Social Sciences and Technology ]]>
Publisher : <![CDATA[Research in Social Sciences and Technology- OpenED Network ]]>
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DOI: 10.46303/ressat.2021.22
<![CDATA[Being politically aware and participating in politics are essential determinants of a society’s democratic survival. One source of concerns for researchers of political behavior regarding post-apartheid South Africa is the low rates of youth’s political participation. There is however a dearth of empirical studies in the extant literature on the university students’ political awareness and their political participation in post-apartheid South Africa. This mixed-methods research was conducted to fill in this obvious gap. A study sample of 372 undergraduate students selected from one rural university in the Eastern Cape through the stratified random sampling techniques yielded the quantitative data, and the qualitative data were obtained from five (5) executive members of the Student Representative Council (SRC) who were purposively selected for semi-structured interviews. Both quantitative and qualitative data analyses were performed by employing simple descriptive and Pearson correlation statistics as well as a thematic content analytical approach. Results showed that nearly all the respondents demonstrated a high level of political awareness in terms of rights to vote and be voted for (99.4%), the importance of parliament, and the national constitution (99.1%) while the respondents’ levels of political participation appeared to be below average as only (49.2%) voted during the 2017 SRC election, whereas (30.4%) of them voted in the 2014 national elections. Students’ political awareness was found to be significantly correlated with their participation in political activities on-campus (r = 0.130) and off-campus (r = 0.185). In conclusion, the bivariate analysis indicated that there was a positive correlation between students’ political awareness and their participation in politics (P<0.001).]]>
<![CDATA[Alteration of Consumption Habits in Turkey Over Time ]]>
<![CDATA[Mahmut Zeki Akarsu]]>
<![CDATA[ Research in Social Sciences and Technology Vol 6 No 3 (2021): Research in Social Sciences and Technology ]]>
Publisher : <![CDATA[Research in Social Sciences and Technology- OpenED Network ]]>
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DOI: 10.46303/ressat.2021.33
<![CDATA[Simon Kuznets and John Maynard Keynes did research on the subject of propensity to consume. Kuznets asserted that people do not alter their consumption/saving ratio and spend more when they have more disposable income. Keynes alleged that when disposable income increases, the rate of saving also increases over time because people tend to keep their consumption habits steady. Namely, the consumption/saving ratio of households or individuals tends to decrease as disposable income goes up. And in this study, the Keynesian consumption function is investigated in the Turkish economy. The result of this research might give insight into the future of the consumption/saving ratio in Turkey. In the study, the ARDL econometric model is operated with data from the Turkish Statistical Institute. The result of the study is that people change their consumption habits with the increase of disposable income. As a result, the consumption level has been slowing down, and the propensity to consume diminishes. That proves that the Keynesian consumption function holds in Turkey.]]>
<![CDATA[Effective Mentoring to Improve Job Satisfaction among Beginner Teachers at South African Primary Schools ]]>
<![CDATA[R. J. Nico Botha]]>;
<![CDATA[Jean-Pierre Hugo]]>
<![CDATA[ Research in Social Sciences and Technology Vol 6 No 3 (2021): Research in Social Sciences and Technology ]]>
Publisher : <![CDATA[Research in Social Sciences and Technology- OpenED Network ]]>
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DOI: 10.46303/ressat.2021.26
<![CDATA[Teachers leaving the profession before age of retirement is an ongoing problem in schools worldwide. While fewer teachers enter the profession each year, the number of teachers leaving the profession has increased. Many teachers listed lack of job satisfaction as a reason for leaving the education profession, while citing the lack of mentoring as a main cause of job dissatisfaction. This study explores the impact of an effective mentoring program at primary schools in the province of Mpumalanga, South Africa to support and improve job satisfaction among beginner teachers entering the profession. This study follows a quantitative approach, consisting of a Likert-scale questionnaire. The sample of the study was a number of 550 teachers (principals, deputy principals, heads of department, teachers and student teachers) from different races and cultures from 50 randomly selected state and private primary schools in Mpumalanga. After comparing the literature with the respondents' data, the researchers found that the development and implementation of a mentoring program in the province of Mpumalanga would positively impacts beginner teachers' job satisfaction, thus indicating a definite need for such a mentoring program.]]>
<![CDATA[University Students’ Learning Disruption and Affordance in a Contested Learning Environment ]]>
<![CDATA[Siti Nur'Aini]]>
<![CDATA[ Research in Social Sciences and Technology Vol 6 No 3 (2021): Research in Social Sciences and Technology ]]>
Publisher : <![CDATA[Research in Social Sciences and Technology- OpenED Network ]]>
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DOI: 10.46303/ressat.2021.23
<![CDATA[This study investigates how university students engage with their learning affordances in a contested environment due to the Coronavirus pandemic. This qualitative research employed a case study approach involving 136 participants. Data analysis was conducted using qualitative analysis as a circular process to describe, classify, and perceive the phenomenon and how the learning, affordances, and society were interconnected. The main framework of the research was the theory of affordance and how it was available for university students in their learning environment that changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected in the first semester of 2020 through an online survey on Google form. The findings indicate the importance of the social environment to provide affordance for the students to adjust with them. Four kinds of affordances emerged from the study; internet affordance, assignment affordance, domestic affordance, and distance learning affordance. The role of the social environment is definitive in changing how students manage their affordances.]]>
<![CDATA[Online Learning as a Catalyst for Self-directed Learning in Universities during the COVID-19 Pandemic ]]>
<![CDATA[Mncedisi Christian Maphalala]]>;
<![CDATA[Rachel Gugu Mkhasibe]]>;
<![CDATA[Dumisani Wilfred Mncube]]>
<![CDATA[ Research in Social Sciences and Technology Vol 6 No 2 (2021): Research in Social Sciences and Technology (Special Issue) ]]>
Publisher : <![CDATA[Research in Social Sciences and Technology- OpenED Network ]]>
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DOI: 10.46303/ressat.2021.25
<![CDATA[The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of online learning and self-directed learning to motivate and engage students. Therefore, this study sought to determine how online learning fostered self-directed learning at a South African university during this period. Higher education institutions worldwide had to shut down indefinitely following guidance from health experts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since education is regarded as a pillar of development for all countries, some means had to be found to keep teaching and learning going irrespective of the ongoing health crisis. Hence, online learning made it possible for university students to continue learning during the emergency university closure. This was a period of reckoning, however, as many students began experiencing challenges related to poor internet connectivity and accessing digital learning devices. Despite these challenges, the solution was to reach out to all students to ensure that they were not excluded from the learning process. The sudden transition to online learning meant that students could no longer follow a well-coordinated, structured learning schedule that was guided and supervised on campus; rather, online learning meant they had to become more independent in their learning. Independent learning encourages students to be proactive and independent, a philosophy aligned to self-directed learning (SDL). This study explored the experiences of third-year student teachers in navigating SDL through online learning platforms. The study was underpinned by self-directed learning theory and adopted a qualitative case study research design, generating data from ten student teachers using a Zoom App focus group discussion. Data were analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis framework. The study found that although SDL is appropriate because it promotes learning independently, the majority of student teachers encountered several challenges when adopting online learning, catching them off guard because they were not formally introduced to it.]]>
<![CDATA[A COVID-19 Re-envisioned Teaching Practicum Curriculum ]]>
<![CDATA[Carisma Nel]]>;
<![CDATA[Carolina Botha]]>;
<![CDATA[Elma Marais]]>
<![CDATA[ Research in Social Sciences and Technology Vol 6 No 2 (2021): Research in Social Sciences and Technology (Special Issue) ]]>
Publisher : <![CDATA[Research in Social Sciences and Technology- OpenED Network ]]>
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DOI: 10.46303/ressat.2021.29
<![CDATA[The changes taking place in the schooling landscape because of the coronavirus are real and meaningful and have implications for the training of preservice teachers, especially the teaching practicum component of their initial teacher education programs. The havoc caused by COVID-19 forced many faculties of education into a state of ‘panic-gogy’ to ensure that student teachers could complete their teaching practicums. In this paper we argue that consideration should be given to core teaching practices and practice-based teacher education pedagogies (i.e., representations and approximations) that can be used in alternative “placement contexts” that will supplement and harness the authenticity of school-based experiences. We provide two conceptual tools, collaboratively developed by teaching practicum educators and mentor teachers, that can be used as heuristic by other university-school partnerships when considering teaching practicum redesign efforts.]]>
<![CDATA[Shifting Paradigms: Rethinking Education During and Post-COVID-19 Pandemic ]]>
<![CDATA[Hlamulo Wiseman Mbhiza]]>
<![CDATA[ Research in Social Sciences and Technology Vol 6 No 2 (2021): Research in Social Sciences and Technology (Special Issue) ]]>
Publisher : <![CDATA[Research in Social Sciences and Technology- OpenED Network ]]>
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DOI: 10.46303/ressat.2021.31
<![CDATA[It is uncontested that education systems globally are under constant pressure to respond to the changing needs of societies. The outbreak of Covid-19 has reminded us that the complexity of education needs responsive practices to facilitate effective teaching and learning across all levels of schooling globally. All over the world, the normative ways of teaching and learning evolved drastically in the first quarter of the 2020 academic year when teachers and students found online offerings to be the dominant option available as a consequence of the pandemic conditions. In South Africa specifically, students and teachers were thrust into virtual teaching and learning situations with the majority of them having no preparation for this shift. This conceptual paper considers education in the current and post-Covid-19 era as the greatest paradigm shift in the history of education. I examine measures taken by higher education institutions to support the provision of education to ensure learning continuation. In this paper, I provide some suggestions for carrying out educational activities during the continuing Covid-19 situation. Educational leaders need to rethink content creation and content sharing and establish working communities to meet the demands of the new paradigm in education.]]>
<![CDATA[Cross-fertilization in Teaching and Learning between Institutions after COVID-19 Shutdown: A Collaborative Effort ]]>
<![CDATA[Joyce Phikisile Dhlamini]]>;
<![CDATA[Vivian Thuso Molaodi]]>
<![CDATA[ Research in Social Sciences and Technology Vol 6 No 3 (2021): Research in Social Sciences and Technology ]]>
Publisher : <![CDATA[Research in Social Sciences and Technology- OpenED Network ]]>
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DOI: 10.46303/ressat.2021.34
<![CDATA[Research reported in this article investigated the effectiveness of collaborative effort between schools to bridge the existing gaps that erupted during the outbreak of COVID-19. There are gaps in teaching and learning within the previously privileged institutions and the marginalised institutions in South Africa. Such gaps might have a negative impact on how teaching and learning are conducted. The purpose of this article was to investigate the creative and constructive ways of managing the anxiety related to socio-economic impacts in schools, amongst which were the introduction of online teaching and learning technologies, new methodologies and contents. This article is underpinned by the concepts of the establishment of advantageous strategies for collaboration, knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer. Qualitative document analysis has been adopted as a methodology to collect information for this study. The outbreak of COVID-19 has evoked inequalities amongst the communities. However, the re-opening of schools exacerbated multiple challenges. While teaching and learning is the centre of the education project in South Africa, which the country has to adapt to, most institutions were faced with a number of challenges. This study’s major finding revealed that collaboration is synergistic and can bring out the best contribution that might currently perceive partnership within the school system. This article recommends ways of bridging the gap between schools through developing partnerships between institutions through cross-fertilisation.]]>
