Abstract
Implementing a program of supplemental instruction (SI) in the present climate of transition in South Africa requires attention to involving students in planning and conducting the new program. Involved in this process are political opportunities and constraints. This paper recounts the steps (and missteps) taken in beginning an SI program in high risk courses in two academic departments at Border Technikon: Accounting and Management. It documents the steps taken to enlist support of the Student Representative Council (SRC) in setting policy, selecting tutors, and maintaining the program's funding base.
We maintain that a successful SI program must draw upon the energies of tertiary level students, both in roles as learners in the high risk courses and as student leaders at an advanced level. Some students may experience both roles. For this process to be more than an imposition from the outside, the program must be a partnership with faculty and students sharing a stake in the outcomes. Both groups must see that they benefit from the smooth working of the SI system. Our results to date indicate that such a joint ownership is occurring.
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Illuminé. (1994). “Key Elements” [in SI], Office of the Director of Instructional and Organizational Development, University of Port Elizabeth, p. 6.
SI Leaders Workshop. (1996). University of Port Elizabeth, May 15–17.
Topping, K.J. (1996). The effectiveness of peer tutoring in further and higher education: A typology and review of the literature.Higher Education, 32, 321–345.
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During 1996, he served as the Director of the Academic Development Centre at Border Technikon, East London, South Africa, under the Educators for Africa Program of the International Foundation of Education and Self-Help.
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Eastmond, J.N., Bartlett, G. & Terblanche, N. Planning for student involvement in a program of supplemental instruction. ETR&D 45, 134–140 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02299738
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02299738