Political education as a determinant of university students’ political participation in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Badaru, Kazeem Ajasa
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Citizenship -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Democracy and education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15793 , vital:40524
- Description: Globally, there is a downward trend in youths’ political interest and participation in the learning of political education in their school curricula as a measure to combat the apparent dangers posed by the declining young citizens’ participation in the political processes.This study therefore investigated political education as a determinant of university students’ political participation in the Province of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study employed a mixed methods design. Using the probability sampling technique, a sample of 375 participants was randomly selected from one university in the Eastern Cape Province while semi-structured interviews were conducted among five (5) purposively selected members of the same university’s Student Representative Council (SRC) executive committee. Simple descriptive statistics such as frequency counts and percentages were used to summarize all categories of variables; while Pearson correlation statistics, Chi-square and Ordinary least square regression were used to examine the relationship between dependent and independent variables at a 95percent confidence interval. Alpha values less than 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. Thematic content analysis was performed on the qualitative data. The quantitative analysis revealed that students’ level of political awareness was high; 98.1percent of them were aware of their rights to vote and be voted for. Students’ political judgment was positively correlated with participation in campus (r =0.182) and national politics (r = 0.030) respectively. Most of the students agreed to take part in the 2018 SRC (78.8percent) and 2019 national elections (77.9percent) respectively. Political interest was significantly correlated with participation in campus (r = 0.375) and national politics (r =0. 404). The findings from the multivariate analysis showed that political interest (<0.001), parents’ political involvement (<0.001) and year of study (<0.001) were the significant determinants of students’ participation in politics. The qualitative findings also showed that there was a positive relationship between political education and students’ participation in politics. Since political interest and family are element and agent of political education respectively, it is concluded that political education is to a large extent a determinant of university students’ political participation. It is recommended that the universities, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and other stakeholders should do a thorough review of the university education curricula and programmes to ensure that political education is adequately accommodated and taken care of in a way that would increase students’ interest, awareness and participation in politics. When this is amply done, students’ cognitive skills and capacities would be enhanced to increase their participation in the political processes in South Africa.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Talent management: a case study of Namibia’s Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA) in securing talent for aviation safety, 2008 to 2014
- Authors: Simataa, George
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7131 , vital:21220
- Description: This study is about talent management, focusing on a case study of the initiatives undertaken by the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA) of Namibia over the period 2008 to 2014 in securing talent for aviation safety. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) regularly assesses the extent to which member states comply with their safety oversight responsibilities. According to a 1996 report by the ICAO, under the auspices of its Universal Safety Oversight and Security Audit Programme (USOSAP), Namibia’s safety oversight was found to be weak, as indicative of the State’s inability to guarantee the safety of aircraft operations within the national airspace (ICAO, 1996). One of the significant audit findings was the critical shortage of qualified professionals at the Directorate Civil Aviation (DCA) to effectively perform the State’s regulatory and oversight function as contained in the Chicago Convention of 1944. The shortage of qualified professionals resulted in Namibia being unable to respond to its obligations and responsibilities under the Chicago Convention and Namibia’s subsequent blacklisting by the ICAO Audit Result Review Board (ARRB). Consequently, a corrective action plan was undertaken. This study examines one aspect of this plan, namely the initiatives that were undertaken to secure the talent required for aviation safety posts. The aim of the research is, from the perspective of talent management, to analyse the corrective action plan of the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA), as a process of securing talent for strategic positions in aviation safety in Namibia. This initiative was analysed from the perspective of the fourth stream of talent management, which emphasises securing talent for strategic positions (Collings and Mellahi, 2009; Huselid & Becker, 2011). Taking into account the fact that Namibia was a racially and culturally divided society until about 25 years ago, the study also deals with issues of diversity management as they impacted upon the talent management of the civil aviation industry nationally. Furthermore, the study is located against the background of the Bantu Education System that was provided by the apartheid South African government to Namibians before independence in 1990. The research design of this study involved conducting a case study that followed a deductive approach. Data were collected using multiple methods and sources such as documentation, interviews and archival records. Content analysis was used in the analysis of collected data. The findings of the study showed the talent management strategies that were adopted in managing strategic positions, the challenges encountered and the impact of the programme. The findings were initially discussed from the perspective of stream four of talent management, with its focus on strategic positions in organisations. Some of the findings of the study were in line with this approach to talent management, but certain challenges that were encountered in carrying out the talent management programme could not be addressed from this perspective, thereby exposing the limits of this approach to talent management in an emerging economy like Namibia. Consequently, a proposed model of sustainable talent management for the DCA was developed. From the perspective of this model of sustainable talent management, recommendations were made for practice and further research.
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- Date Issued: 2017