Page 14 - Spring Graduation Booklet (SESSION-2)(19Oct2022)

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
FACULTY OF EDUCATION &
HUMAN SCIENCES
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

CANDIDATE: KACHEPA Oksana

CANDIDATE’S DISSERTATION

EVALUATING THE InSTEM BRIDGING PROGRAMME IN THE
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING: A CASE OF NAMIBIA UNIVERSITY
OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The doctoral study was undertaken and completed under the supervision of Dr. Shiwana
Naukushu of the University of Namibia.

The candidate evaluated the Introduction to Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics (InSTEM) programme which is a one-year bridging programme
introduced in 2014 at the Faculty of Engineering at the Namibia University of Science
and Technology (NUST). The study aimed to explore the students’, lecturers’ and
administrators’ perceptions on the InSTEM programme’s goals and objectives as
well as their perceptions of the programme’s strengths and weaknesses in achieving
the stated goals and objectives. This evaluation study employed the Context, Input,
Process and Product components of the CIPP model to identify the strengths and
weaknesses of the InSTEM programme. The embedded case study design was utilised
in this study. Interviews, questionnaires and document analysis instruments were used
to collect data from the samples. The study revealed that the InSTEM programme
had a positive impact on its students. Positive changes in students’ attitude to
learning, development of practical and cognitive skills, development of academic
communication skills, self-confidence, improved time-management and other life skills
demonstrated the successes of the InSTEM programme. The study also identified a few
challenges that might have contributed to a low InSTEM programme output. Amongst
these were the new curriculum, lack of an organisational structure, lack of laboratory
facilities and shorter academic semesters. Based on perceptions and experiences of
students, lecturers and administrators, the study recommended the re-curriculating of
the programme; to form a new organisational structure. The study also proposed a
Programme Evaluation Model (PEM) that could be used by educators to evaluate their
programmes.

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