An evaluation of the blended pedagogy applied in the Municipal Minimum Competence Program: the case of Drakenstein and Mossel Bay

[摘要] ENGLISH SUMMARY : The recognition of the highly complex and dynamic nature of service delivery in South Africa today has resulted in the requirement of municipal finance management reform which has been initiated by the Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003 and various other pieces of legislation. The aim of the Municipal Finance Management Act is sustainable and sound financial management practices towards improving service delivery, through becoming more responsive to the evident underlying challenges with regard to the lack of competency concerning finance and supply chain management officials. The realisation of competency of said officials is administered by the School of Public Leadership as one of many service providers, through the Municipal Minimum Competency program of which two different training methods are utilised to conduct the program. The research hypothesis under study is to determine which of the two pedagogies, hereinafter referred to as the Drakenstein conventional and the Mossel Bay blended pedagogies has a better learning result on the competency of finance and supply chain management officials through the Municipal Minimum Competency program.The theoretical foundation of factors such as good governance principles, the aims and objectives of the MMC program, and vital knowledge constituting the technical skills of finance management through finance literacy and numeracy competence illustrates the role that capacity development plays in overcoming service delivery challenges at municipal level in terms of finance management. Furthermore, the legislative framework guiding local government specifically affecting the MFMA, shows the means by which sound finance management must be realised. The legislative framework also provides a guide which municipal finance and supply chain management officials must adhere to, as no government responsibilities can be fulfilled outside the framework of the law.The identification of the differences between the structure, strengths and weaknesses of training modes under study pertaining to the Drakenstein conventional and Mossel Bay blended Training modes provided information substantiating the analysis of the results. The collection of data specific to the two training modes required an empirical evaluation study to be utilised which involved a mixed methods approach including both numerical and textual data. The sample size of the study was determined through the willingness of learners from each municipality to participate, as well as the submission of feedback on both pre-course evaluations issued before commencement of the contact sessions and post course evaluations issued after the completion of each training case.Kirkpatrick's model determined the steps taken in defining the learning results of the training of which only Levels One, 'reaction and Two, 'learning, has been completed,. The two levels guided the collection of information used to conduct an evaluation of the training modes applied in the Municipal Minimum Competence Program which included pre and post course evaluations of each pedagogy. The analysis and interpretation of the reaction and learning of each training mode illustrated here revealed no significant differences between the two. However, it can be concluded that, due to differences in the learning level and the reactions towards the training event, which provided factors that affected performance in Level Two learning, evidence provided by analysis of the case studies indicated that the Drakenstein Conventional Training gained a higher performance rating in the evaluation of the training modes affecting the realisation of Municipal Finance Management Act. Higher levels of competency were attained. This finding provides ground for recommendations to adjust the Blended Training method in order to eliminate shortcomings.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University