The impact of the National Qualifications Framework on Higher Education with specific reference to access, teaching and learning : a case study

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the NQF on highereducation institutions focussing specifically on access, teaching and learning. Thestudy aimed to answer the following research questions: What was the impact ofthe NQF on increasing access to higher education? In particular how did the RPLprocess facilitate access into the University of Pretoria? Secondly, how did theNQF influence the processes of teaching and learning at this particular institution?And finally, why did the NQF have differential impacts on different faculties withinthe same higher education institution? To gain the end-users' perspective, a casestudy of the University of Pretoria was conducted. Data was gathered usinginterviews with ten senior members of staff at the university working in ninedifferent departments, and student records indicating admissions through RPL intothe University of Pretoria as well as relevant institutional documents.The findings suggest that the impact of the NQF on access, teaching and learningdiffered across departments, resulting in a partial implementation of the policy. Thiswas facilitated by factors inherent in the policy itself and factors inherent to theinstitution. The influence of external factors such as professional bodies onteaching and learning practices of end-users at the University of Pretoria posed amajor challenge against NQF implementation. The motivations leading to NQFimplementation are not directly linked to the NQF policy per se, although theyresulted in portraying the extent of change to access, teaching and learning along acontinuum that distinguished between departments that 'blindly complied', thatselectively adapted and those that strategically avoided implementation of thepolicy.Indications for further research are that a wider look at the impact of the NQF onaccess, teaching and learning in higher education is less revealing than a morefocussed investigation. Future research should zoom-in on individual departmentswithin higher education institutions to reveal the deeper and more nuanced impactof the NQF.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University