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
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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
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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.
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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