Department of Educational Psychology

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Browsing Department of Educational Psychology by Subject "Accreditation (Education)"

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    An analysis of critical thinking skills and democratic citizenship education in the South African higher education system and its implications for teaching and learning
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-12) Pullen, Elton; Waghid, Yusef; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Educational Psychology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study aimed to determine the extent to which critical thinking (CT) skills are being developed in the accounting programmes accredited by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) at South African universities. The study is situated within the South African Higher Education (SAHE) accounting landscape, which in recent years (2013 to 2020) has suffered declining student success rates despite increased access to higher education. Specifically, the study aimed to evaluate whether a pedagogy aimed at cultivating democratic values of equality within the SAHE accounting landscape can enhance the development of critical thinking skills in students. Secondary research questions focused on the related meanings of CT and democratic citizenship education (DCE), as well as on how the concept of CT has been advanced (or not) in the SAHE policies, the SAICA competency framework and the pedagogical practices within the accounting programmes at SAICA-accredited universities (SAUs). In particular, the focus was on evaluating the extent of CT development within the pedagogical activities conducted by SAICA-accredited programmes. These pedagogical activities were evaluated along a continuum, where activities regarded as more indicative of critical thinking were regarded as more critical thinking (MCT), and those less indicative of critical thinking were regarded as less critical thinking (LCT). The research approach used was a conceptual-deconstructive analysis approach, with an overarching eclectic paradigm incorporating interpretivism’s broad philosophical perspectives, critical theory, and deconstruction. This research approach evaluated the pedagogical activities at accounting programmes accredited by SAICA as LCT overall. This evaluation of LCT was due mainly to the focus on assessment which mimics the SAICA Initial Test of Competence (ITC) exam. This exam essentially assesses ‘what the student does on their own’ instead of ‘what the student co-constructs with their teachers and/or peers’, with the latter being indicative of MCT. Furthermore, the analyses revealed a lack of learner-centred pedagogical practices, deliberative encounters in the classroom, and pedagogical expertise by accounting academics. In response to the above-mentioned findings, the study proposes Foucault’s notion of rupturing in the dominant mimicked SAICA ITC assessment practices reminiscent of assessment of learning and instead argues for assessment within learning as coined by Waghid and Davids (2017). Furthermore, the study argues for the adoption of problem-based learning (PBL) within the pedagogy instead of the current prevalent instructional modes of teaching at SAUs. Furthermore, the study suggests pedagogical training and the practice of critical reflection for chartered accountant (CA) academics who tend to enter the academe as technically skilled accounting experts rather than as pedagogically trained teachers. In general, the study urges CA academics to continuously critically reflect on how notions of DCE and CT can be fostered within the pedagogy without ignoring the technical competencies.