Teaching and learning development in a historically black Technikon in South Africa: A lifeskills approach to higher education

Ansu Erasmus
Department Teaching and Learning Development
Technikon Northern Transvaal, South Africa

In response to the educational imbalances caused by an inadequate secondary school system in the previous political dispensation, the Technikon Northern Transvaal introduced a Lifeskills component to the existing access program for engineering students in 1992. The aims of the access program are to create equal opportunities for educationally disadvantaged black matriculants to cope with studies in the various fields of engineering and to bridge the gap between secondary and tertiary education. The Lifeskills component adds a developmental dimension to the access program by focusing on the acquisition of coping skills and by facilitating potential development of students. The program has shown that students are more empowered to cope academically and in other life-roles. Recent attempts to integrate Lifeskills into mainstream courses were problematic because academic staff felt uncomfortable and ill-equipped to facilitate Lifeskills development adequately.

Introduction

The Technikon Northern Transvaal (TNT) is situated in the Gauteng region of South Africa in the black township Soshanguve approximately 30 kilometres Northwest of Pretoria. The technikon was established in the apartheid era (1980) in this particular location to address the shortage of skilled technicians and technologists in the region. Despite the new political dispensation since April 1994, TNT is still perceived to be a technikon for black students only (99% of the 8200 students are black).

The student profile shows a diversity of ethnic groups and all eleven official languages are represented amongst students. However, English is the medium of instruction at the technikon. The average age of first year students is 20 and the gender distribution is 52% male and 48% female. A common denominator is the educational disadvantage experienced by the majority of students.

The inadequate secondary school system plays a major role as one of the contributing factors to the current higher education crisis in South Africa. Students who matriculate from secondary school are inadequately prepared for the demands of higher education due to unqualified teachers, substandard matriculation examinations and evaluation, lack of laboratory and library facilities at schools, overcrowding in classrooms and inadequate exposure to technology (e.g. computers). A number of different departments of education and gross inequalities in state funding in addition to student unrest in the pre-election era compound the problem further.

A number of other special challenges impact on teaching and learning at the TNT i.e. a high crime rate, student unrest, language proficiency of staff and students, affirmative action, demotivated staff, unsubsidised access programs, political transition (various political groupings with hidden agendas mobilising the student masses), and theft of equipment.

These and other factors provide the frame of reference and impetus for the establishment and development of access programmes at TNT.

The Potential Development (PD) programme of TNT

The PD Program was initiated at the technikon in 1981 in response to the poor matriculation results of applicants for engineering studies. The majority of students who apply for admission to engineering studies at TNT obtained an "E" (40-49%) for matric Mathematics and Physical Science. Application at TNT is usually the last resort after denial of access to other higher education institutions. The PD Program therefore provides an access route to engineering studies for educationally disadvantaged students.

The initial PD Program consisted of the following subjects: Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Technical/Machine Drawing, Computer Skills, Communication, and Engineering. The addition of a Lifeskills component in July 1992 introduced a developmental dimension to the PD Program by focusing on the acquisition of generic skills (coping skills). The program is a one semester full-time post-matric intervention aimed at bridging the gap between secondary and tertiary studies and aimed at giving students the opportunity to attain the desired level of educational preparedness to complete engineering courses successfully.

The PD Program is managed overall by the Directorate Academic Development and the Lifeskills component resorts under the Department of Teaching and Learning Development. The majority of subjects in the PD Program are offered by staff of the respective engineering departments and service departments such as Mathematics and Communication. All subjects including Lifeskills are time-tabled and attendance is compulsory.

The Lifeskills course

The Lifeskills course at TNT focuses on facilitating the development of students' abilities and skills to cope with all aspects of their lives at the technikon. Furthermore, Lifeskills teaching endeavours to empower students to take responsibility for their own lives, their learning and their future. Lindhard and Dlamini (1990:19) define Lifeskills as "......practical skills in the art of living." Nelson-Jones (1991:13) emphasise the importance of making choices in the definition :"Lifeskills are personally responsible sequences of choices in specific psychological areas conducive to mental wellness." The course is based on developing amongst students self-reliance and self-empowerment to overcome some of the disadvantages created by their experiences in the past.

Goal of Lifeskills teaching: self-empowerment

Differences between more and less self-empowered persons
More empowered	Less empowered
Open to change	Closed to change
Assertive	Non-assertive or aggressive
Proactive	Reactive
Self-accountable	Blames others
Self-directed	Other-directed
Uses feelings	Overwhelmed by or fails to recognise feelings
Learns by mistakes	Debilitated by mistakes
Confronts	Avoids
Lives more in the present	Past- or future-oriented
Realistic	Unrealistic
Thinks relatively	Thinks in absolutes
Sees alternatives	Tunnel vision
Develops commitments	Keeps obligations
Likes self	Dislikes self
Values others	Negates others
Alert to other's needs	Selfish
Interested in the world	Self-centred
Balanced life-style	One arena of life developed to exclusion of others
Enhances other people's lives	Restricts the lives of others
(Table reproduced unaltered from: Hopson & Scally, Program 3, 1985:20)

Aims of Lifeskills development at TNT

• to empower students with the academic, psychological, emotional and social "tools" or know-how to cope with all aspects of their lives at the technikon, at home and eventually in their careers;
• to increase the pass rate of students;
• to provide academic support for disadvantaged students;
• to develop the full potential of students

Lifeskills facilitators

Number of students entered for Lifeskills course

Lifeskills course content

• The General Questionnaire on Life Competencies and Skills (Human Sciences Research Council, 1992)
• TNT Lifeskills Needs assessment
• Small group discussions

The following list represents the core Lifeskills themes discussed during group sessions at TNT:

Self-image     -formation     -development     -role in achievement	Human potential     -personal assets and qualities     -abilities     -personal motivation
The brain and its functions         -brain dominance     -creativity     -the power of thinking	Interpersonal relationships     -listening skills     -communication     -assertiveness     -conflict management
The concept responsibility	Goal setting
The study process	Stress and the management thereof
Examination techniques	A balanced lifestyle

The General Questionnaire on Life Competencies and Skills

1. Community and social development
2. Development of person and self
3. Self-management
4. Physical and sexual development
5. Career planning and development
6. Life and world orientation

The following table represents a summary of some of the results of the abovementioned questionnaire for this specific sample:

Sub field - skills lacking	% students
E3: Finding and keeping a work	80
C4: Study methods	76
E1: Entrepreneurship (initiative)	74
C3: Handling stress	70
F2: Life and world orientation	64
F4: Cultural orientation	60
E4: Career planning and development	57
A3: Human rights	54
F3: Political orientation	52
F1: Religious orientation	47
D1: Sex guidance	42

TNT Lifeskills Needs Assessments

Priority	Lifeskill
1	Building self-confidence(self-esteem)
2	Responsibility and empowerment
3	Concentration and memory training
4	Goal setting
5	Preparing for and taking tests or examinations
6	Maintaining motivation
7	Creative problem solving
8	Effective listening
9	Decision making
10	Answering tests or examination questions
11	Study schedules and time management
12	Mind mapping
13	Note taking (listening and reading)
14	Lateral and logical thinking
15	Effective reading
16	Assertiveness
17	Stages of skill acquisition
18	How to use questions effectively in communication
19	Stress management
20	Effective use of people and resources
21	Academic writing
22	Conveying spoken messages

Group discussions

Lifeskills teaching methods

• interactive methods involving learning from experience, instead of an information-centred approach emphasising one-way communication between teacher and student
• a negotiated curriculum and contracting, involving students in determining the content and methodology of learning
• determining individual learning needs for each student
• designing self-directed and distance learning experiences for students

Training methods for the acquisition of specific Lifeskills focus on three dimensions, namely knowledge, attitude and skills. Students need to assume personal responsibility for acquiring, maintaining, using and developing a particular skill (the "wanting to do it" or motivational dimension of a Lifeskill). A second dimension is knowledge concerning the correct choices to be made ("knowing how to do it"). The application of attitude and knowledge to practice is the skill dimension that focuses on feeling and thinking as well as on observable actions ("actually doing it"). However, Lifeskills training sometimes involves unlearning old, rigidly held skills weaknesses.

Teaching development at TNT

• The majority of academic staff are not aware of their need for Lifeskills training.
• When they are made aware of their need, they do not perceive Lifeskills facilitation as part of their job description.
• Lifeskills facilitation is seen as a time-consuming activity that will encroach on "syllabus time".
• Lifeskills facilitation is seen as a speciality field that should be reserved for people specifically trained for that purpose.
• Some staff members still believe that students should be seen and not heard and they perceive students who actively engage in debate as a threat to discipline and order.

Is the lifeskills course achieving its goal?

Conclusion

Bibliography

Hopson, B. & Scally, M. (1985). Lifeskills Programme 2. Lifeskills Communications: England.

Hopson, B. & Scally, M. (1985). Lifeskills Programme 3. Lifeskills Communications: England.

Human Sciences Research Council (1992). General Questionnaire on Life Competencies and Skills. HSRC: Pretoria.

Leider, R. J. (1994). Life Skills. Taking charge of your personal and professional growth. Pfeiffer & Co: California.

Lindhard, N. & Dlamini, N. (1990). Lifeskills in the classroom. Maskew Miller Longman: Cape Town.

Nelson-Jones, R. 1991. Lifeskills: A Handbook. Cassel: London.

Author: Dr Ansu Erasmus Department Teaching and Learning Development Technikon Northern Transvaal, South Africa Fax: 27-1214-912174 Please cite as: Erasmus, A. (1996). Teaching and learning development in a historically black Technikon in South Africa: A lifeskills approach to higher education. Different Approaches: Theory and Practice in Higher Education. Proceedings HERDSA Conference 1996. Perth, Western Australia, 8-12 July. http://www.herdsa.org.au/confs/1996/erasmus.html