New in the Library

Doctors in a Divided Society
The profession and education of medical practitioners in South Africa
By: Mignonne Breier & Angelique Wildschut
Published by: Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), 2006

This study on the medical profession and its related education programmes considers the multiple worlds of medical practice in South Africa ten years into democracy, from a number of perspectives. First, it presents the major problem facing government - the skewed distribution of medical doctors across public/private, rural/urban divides - and consider its recent attempts to rectify the imbalances. Secondly, it presents the universities’ responses to the equity and redress demands of government policy: changing profiles of medical students and graduates and new curricula to meet the profile of the ‘basic’ doctor who is willing and able to serve the needs of a transformed South Africa.

Knowledge, curriculum and qualifications for South African Further Education
Edited by: Michael Young & Jeanne Gamble
Published by: Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), 2006

All countries, and South Africa is no exception, face acute dilemmas in modernising their systems of upper secondary and further education and training. Faced with pressures from the fast changing world of work, this education sector has become characterized by political slogans stressing skill development, improved access and participation, and the accountability of providers through some form of market. On the other hand, the phenomenon of ‘academic drift’ reveals that students increasingly see their future as progressing to higher education. Policymakers attempt to resolve these competing demands by calling for transferable, portable outcomes and qualifications as the new currency of an increasingly market-type system.

Whilst acknowledging this context, this book seeks to remind policymakers, researchers and teachers that students continue with their education and training primarily to acquire knowledge, be it disciplinary, professional or vocational – and are not necessarily focused on achieving outcomes or qualifications. Knowledge is as important for those who do not progress to university as for those who do, and must be the starting point for the reform of curriculum, pedagogy and qualifications.