Research Outputs

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http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/3217

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Browsing Research Outputs by Subject "South Africa"

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    Insights into Instagram use by Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges
    (AOSIS Publishing, 2023-12-23) Cilliers, Liezel; Viljoen, Kim
    Background: Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges use social media to improve their brand and connect with potential students and employers. While Instagram is the third most popular social media network in South Africa, little is known about the marketing strategy of TVET colleges on this social media platform. Objectives: This article aims to investigate the use of Instagram as a marketing tool by TVET colleges in South Africa. Method: There are 19 TVET colleges that have an Instagram account. All posts were collected from these 19 accounts for the period January 2019 to June 2020 and analysed using sentiment and descriptive analysis. Results: Only 57% of TVET Instagram accounts were active, which means Instagram is the least utilised social media platform for marketing purposes among TVET colleges. TVET colleges use Instagram to connect with their followers, provide generic information, share what is happening on their campus and build their brand by exposing their achievements. Post sentiments were either positive or neutral. Conclusion: There is no social media marketing strategy to guide TVET colleges, leading to the unprofessional and inconsistent use of Instagram as a marketing tool. Contribution: The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) needs to compile a social media strategy to assist TVET colleges to engage and build relationships with all stakeholders.
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    Motivational Factors that Influence the Course Completion Rate of Massive Open Online Courses in South Africa
    (Society for Research and Knowledge Management, 2023-06-20) Cilliers, Liezel; Twinomurinzi, Hossana; Murire, Obrain
    Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have increased access to higher education by allowing South Africans to access free, online-based, open content created by higher education institutions worldwide. However, most MOOCs report significant student drop-out rates before completing a course. Higher education institutions must understand learner motivation for completing a MOOC. This paper examines the motivational factors influencing the completion rate of MOOCs in South Africa. This study employed a quantitative approach to collect data using an online questionnaire from South African respondents. A total number of 3147 responses were recorded, and the data were analyzed with SPSS V28. Correlation statistics tests were used to denote the association between the four independent variables and the dependent variable. The study's most important findings are that intrinsic and extrinsic motivating factors, motivation to continue, and the availability of resources positively impact a MOOC's completion rate. The study concludes that these factors will improve the throughput rate of MOOCs. It is recommended that all higher education institutions that offer MOOCs create a conducive online learning environment that offers independence and freedom of learning with plenty of communication and collaboration between students and facilitators. Creating such an environment will encourage active participation in the course and improve throughput rates.