2011-NMMU-Research-Report - Research Management - Nelson ...

76 NMMU Research and Innovation Report 2011 - Faculty of Education
Prof Denise Zinn,
Executive Dean: Faculty
of Education
Dean’s Overview
The Faculty of Education experienced a very rewarding research year during 2011 that was reflected in many
ways in the Faculty’s activities.
Enrolments of MEd and PhD students in the Faculty have consistently increased over time to the extent that
supervision capacity is almost at its optimum. This is viewed as a positive trend, as it has driven the Faculty
to reconsider several aspects of its postgraduate delivery. The Faculty had to devise innovative supervision
strategies that have been refined and adapted to accommodate the needs of students and supervisors and
have also resulted in improved throughput rates. Other aspects that received attention were the recruitment
and selection of students and the channelling of students into areas of supervision strength, also relating
these to the new Faculty research themes.
Several initiatives to enable emerging postgraduate supervisors and researchers have been realised, such as
writing retreats, seminars, research groups and research hubs. These initiatives have not only strengthened the
research dimension in the Faculty, but have also stimulated interest in the scholarship of teaching and learning.
The Faculty had to devise innovative supervision strategies that have been refined and
adapted to accommodate the needs of students and supervisors and have also resulted in
improved throughput rates.
The significant number of visits from international researchers and the concomitant collaboration that has
resulted from these visits is further evidence of the Faculty growing out of its research childhood into early
adolescence. The internationalisation of research and the global awareness this brings to academics, augurs
well for the development of the Faculty’s national and international research standing.
More detail about the research involvement and outputs of the Faculty is presented in the paragraphs below.
Prof Denise Zinn
Executive Dean: Faculty of Education