Housing knowledge of final year student teachers at Esikhawini College of Education : implications for the development of housing unit standards

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The provision of housing in South Africa is a national priority. As many aspirant homeownersare first-time homeowners, they are not necessarily informed about the pitfalls of homeownership. Although the Government has attempted short-term solutions aimed at equippingthese housing consumers with the necessary knowledge and skills to make informed andresponsible housing-related decisions, research pointed to the need for a sustainable longtermsolution in the form of education and training of the housing consumer. There must be aconcentrated effort to provide housing education to consumers, since everyone has aconstitutional right of access to adequate housing. Unless consumers are equipped withadequate knowledge and information to make informed choices, this right will not be realisedand the housing market shall not function effectively.The main objective of the research study was to determine the basic housing knowledge ofthe senior student teachers of the Esikhawini College of Education in KwaZulu Natal. Thesecond objective was to develop an illustrative Unit Standard for teacher qualificationprogrammes on the fifth level of the National Oualificationa Framework (NOF).The sixteen housing education and training core concepts identified by Serfontein (2001 :120)namely Basic Housing Technology, Community, Cultural Aspects of Housing, Environment,Financial Aspects of Housing, Housing Consumerism, Housing Design and Decoration,Housing Market, Housing Needs, Housing Policy, Legal Aspects of Housing, ResourceManagement, Role-players in Housing, Sources of Housing Information, Tenure Options andTypes of Housing were used to compile a questionnaire which was administered to the seniorstudents of Esikhawini College of Education. The aim was to determine the basic knowledgethat respondents possessed. The data collected formed the background for the illustrativeUnit Standard for Housing Education that was developed in this research study. Thedevelopment of Unit Standards for Housing Education is very necessary and timely as theDepartment of Housing, who seeks to develop a systematic housing consumer educationframework for South Africa, have recommended that Housing Education should be included inthe formal education curriculum.If the recommendations of the Department of Housing are implemented and housingeducation is included in the school curriculum, well-qualified and trained teachers would beneeded to facilitate the learning of the content. Therefore housing education should beincluded in student teacher training programmes. The illustrative Unit Standard for HousingEducation developed in this research study is ideally suited for this purpose.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University