Research

The Office of Graduate Studies and Research (OGS&R) is the nodal point for research and postgraduate studies at the College level. Our success lies in our collective efforts to support research and invest in people and innovative ideas. These include attracting top researchers through our collaborative approach; taking a focused approach to human capital development; driving a transformation agenda that focuses on transforming the cohort of researchers who are research active. The Office is mandated to coordinate, monitor and provide an enabling environment to the researchers in the College, ensure sustainable development of researchers, promote cutting edge innovative, impact-oriented research and centres of excellence to meet the changing needs of society, foster and manage graduate training, provide interventions and actions to improve M&D throughput and the capacity for quality postgraduate supervision.

Testimony to the strength and quality of research, the College prides itself with 15 NRF rated researchers who hold B and C rating. It is the home to three Research Chairs (UNESCO chair on Open Distance Learning, UNESCO co-Chair on Early Childhood Development and Commonwealth of Learning Chair on OEP/OER) as well as three Research Professors.  To ratify internationalization, the College houses more than 10 Postdoctoral Fellows per year and currently has more than 40 Academic Associates sourced to enhance high quality research output, to sustain a supportive research culture that encourages critical discourse and scholarly debate and to strengthen research capacity. Over and above these top researchers, the College is the custodian of several flagship projects investigating critical issues in school and teacher education. Some of these projects are solution-oriented as they focus on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and COVID-19 pandemic. With Open Distance Learning (ODL) advocacy, its footprints are visible through research. The ODL is driven through Institute for Open and Distance Learning, researchers who are located in 10 departments as well as postgraduate offerings. The hard work of our researchers is recognised and rewarded through several awards, prizes and membership to notable research academies.

About us

The staff members below are responsible for driving the agenda of the Office of Graduate Studies and Research:

Prof VG Gasa Head: Office of Graduate Studies and Research	Dr LM Luvalo M&D Coordinator (Acting)	Prof AT Motlhabane Chairperson: CEDU Research Ethics Committee
Mrs Pauline Maapola Research Coordinator	Ms Liketso Nthekenyane Secretary

NRF Rated Researchers

The NRF rating system is a key driver in the NRF’s aim to build a globally competitive science system in South Africa. It is a valuable tool for benchmarking the quality of our researchers against the best in the world.  NRF ratings are allocated based on a researcher’s recent research outputs and impact as perceived by international peer reviewers. The rating system encourages researchers to publish high quality outputs in high impact journals/outlets. Rated researchers as supervisors will impart cutting-edge skills to the next generation of researchers.

Research Chairs

Research Chairs are world-class academics whose positions are supported by targeted funding from a funding agency. Research Chair positions are used to attract and retain the best research talent from around the world.

Research Professors

The appointment of Research Professors (RPs) is to enhance UNISA’s academic profile and prestige and to support and strengthen emerging areas of research excellence at UNISA, thus enabling the institution to respond to South Africa’s development needs.

Academic Associates

Academic Associates (Professor Extraordinarius, Research Fellow and Honorary Professor) are recruited to volunteer their experience, expertise and knowledge for the benefit of the university. They contribute to the sustained growth of academic scholarship among employees and students at UNISA and enhance UNISA’s academic profile and prestige.

Postdoctoral Fellows

A Postdoctoral Fellow is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of his/her Doctoral degree. Postdoctoral Fellows are supported in preparation for an academic career at a university or a Research Institute.

Expert Consultants

Expert consultants offer support to Unisa researchers through mentorship, peer review and the assessment of research endeavours and research capacity building.  The use of expert consultants, who are not only recognized as established researchers, but who are also experienced in the review, peer review and assessment of research, contributes positively to the implementation of the Research & Innovation Strategy.

Achievements

Research awards and prizes make an important contribution towards recognizing excellence in research and providing an enabling environment at Unisa.

• Women in Research Awards

The Women’s Prize for Excellence in Research is an annual prize that is given to active and deserving UNISA women researchers. The prize is aimed at increasing and strengthening the participation of women in research at UNISA thereby responding to the Research and Innovation Strategic goal. The categories are Leadership Prize for Excellence in Research, Emerging Researcher Prize for Excellence in Research and Resilience in Research Award.

• Women in Research: Leadership Prize for Excellence in Research

The Leadership in Research Award is awarded to researchers who, in the last five years, have demonstrated their outstanding leadership in research by publishing widely, contributing to the advancement of research within their field, participating in the development of scholars through mentorship, providing supervision to a substantial number of postgraduate students, receiving recognition and awards in their field as achievers and participating in community and/or industry engagement.

• Women in Research: Emerging Researcher Prize for Excellence in Research
  
  The Emerging Researcher Award is aimed at encouraging new or aspiring PhD candidates to become established researchers. To be considered for this award, a candidate who is permanently employed by Unisa must show a promising track record in research.

• Women in Research: Resilience in Research Award
  
  The Resilience in Research Award is awarded to a researcher who, in the last three years, has succeeded in attaining a doctoral qualification in spite of extraordinary personal circumstances that would inhibit possible completion. The award celebrates the values of perseverance, commitment and singular dedication in the pursuit of academic goals. This award was discontinued from 2017.

• The Principal’s Prize for Research Excellence
  
  The Prize is targeted at young and developing researchers (not older than 35 years) or groups who have achieved academic research excellence of the highest quality as published in the preceding two years. The research cohort comprises of scholars who are generally in the minority throughout the national higher education system. Traditionally awarded bi-annually, it alternates with the Principal’s Prize for Excellence in Research.

• Chancellor’s Prize for Excellence in Research
  
  The Chancellor’s Prize for Excellence in Research is regarded as the most prestigious prize for research and innovation at Unisa. Awarded every second year and alternating with the Principal’s Prize, it rewards high-quality published research by permanent Unisa researchers and research groups.

• The Half Million and Million Rand Club Awards
  
  The Half Million and Million Rand Club Awards are a new award introduced in 2019 to recognise researchers who have obtained competitive external funding for their research projects.
  
  
• Half Million Rand Club
  
  The Half Million Rand Club Award recognises a researcher who has received external funding for his/her research from R500 000.00 to R1million.

• Million Rand Cub
  
  The Million Rand Club Award recognises a researcher who has received external funding for his/her research of R1million or more.

• Prestigious External Research Awards and Memberships
  
  External awards and memberships serve to provide credible affirmation of excellence. Hence, researchers who have been recognized by external bodies are eligible for awards at Unisa.

Capacity building and training

The office of Graduate Studies and Research hosts several capacity building and training workshops for the researchers in the College. The workshops that were mainly face to face are now held online due to COVID-19 pandemic. Since the adoption of a new normal, all research activities are conducted fully online. This has increased the number of online workshops that are being attended in big numbers. A series of article writing workshops, NRF rating information session, grant research proposal and postgraduate supervision are organised throughout the year. Furthermore, the researchers are guided by the Consultants when applying for internal and external grants. This has increased the number of researchers obtaining different grants.

• External grant holders

• Internal grant holders

Strategic partnerships

• JET Education Service, Johannesburg (MoU)
• Open University of Mauritius, Mauritius (MoU)
• Liverpool John Moores University, UK (MoU)
• Oldenburg University, Germany (MoU)
• University of Helsinki, Finland (MoU)
• University of Tampere, Finland (MoU)
• The Farhangian Teacher Education University (FTEU), Iran (MoU)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• The Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
• South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE)
• Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges
• University of Zimbabwe (UNESCO Chair)
• University of Botswana UNESCO Chair)
• Makerere University (UNESCO Chair)
• University of Zambia (UNESCO Chair)
• University of Malawi (UNESCO Chair)
• Athabasca University (UNESCO Chair)

Postgraduate Studies

• Support for master’s and doctoral studies
  The Office of Graduate Studies and Research organizes discipline-specific research training workshops for Postgraduate students. These workshops are usually held face to face during the first and second term in selected regional offices. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the mode of delivering these workshops changed to fully online. Students are informed of these workshops through their ‘mylife’ email addresses. It is important that new students activate their ‘mylife’ account immediately after registration.
• Research Focus Areas

• Postgraduate Bursaries
  Postgraduate students are encouraged to apply for bursaries and grants. For detailed information click here

Research resources

• Flagship projects

Work related to COVID-19

1. Researcher: Prof M Noor Davids published a paper in Yesterday & Today Journal (Special Edition) titled: The history of pandemics: Responding to the COVID 19 pandemic from a curriculum perspective.
2. Researcher: Prof Mpine Makoe is leading the project on: Response to COVID 19 by training teachers to teach online using OERs. This project has more than 300 teachers from schools, District Offices and TVET colleges in Gauteng and Kwa Zulu Natal Provinces
3. Researcher: Prof Jenny Roberts was requested to write the narrative on the South African case and submitted her contribution on 5 May 2020. The full article is currently being finalised with publication expected in June 2020. The research that she sent through was titled” Reflections on the educational landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa”. As a response to interruption of education due to COVID-19 pandemic, this study is a collaborative reaction that narrates the overall view, reflections from educational landscape, lessons learned and suggestions from a total of 31 countries across the world with a representation of 62,7% of the whole world population.
4. Researcher: Dr Gloria Ledwaba conceptualized collaborative research related to covid19 with two colleagues, one from Wits and the other one from UP.  Initially they wanted to develop communication symbols (using PCS software) for COVID 19 awareness for learners with severe speech difficulties (for home and school context).  Topic: “Understanding of prevention messages of COVID19 by learners with complex communication needs”.
5. Researcher: Dr Asteria Nsamba is conducting research with a colleague from East Africa on knowledge, skills, attitudes and values students have learned during the COVID 19 lock-downs.
6. Researcher: Professor Veronica McKay published an article titled ‘Adult learning and education as a tool to contain pandemics: The COVID‑19 experience (Henrique Lopes & Veronica McKay) in the International Review of Education journal.
7. Researchers: Professor Ngubane-Mokiwa, S.A. and Mr Zongozzi, J.N. published an article titled ‘Exclusion Reloaded: The Chronicles of Covid 19 on Students with Disabilities in a South African Open Distance Learning Context’ in the Journal of Intellectual Disability - Diagnosis and Treatment.
8. Researcher: Professor Davids M.N and Dr Meeran S. published an article titled ‘COVID-19 catalysing assessment transformation: a case of the online open book examination’ in the South African Journal of Higher Education (SAJHE).

Research focusing on SDGs

Conferences

There are three conferences that are part of the College of Education’s calendar. These conferences form part of the drive to increase the scholarship of academics, international collaboration and research outputs.

• Teacher Education and Interdisciplinary Research Conference (TEIR)
  TEIR Conference is a well-established part of the College of Education’s calendar. This conference is held annually in different provinces in South Africa as well as SADC countries. It is part of the drive to increase the scholarship of academics, international collaboration and research outputs in the College of Education. www.unisa.ac.za/te@distance
• Masters and doctoral students conference
  This annual conference offers masters and doctoral students an opportunity to present and discuss their latest work and discover new and interesting developments in their field. It helps them to recognize and establish scholarly benchmarks in terms of cutting edge discoveries and theories, learning the best practices, methods and resources in research and personal networking.

Media & events

Follow this link: https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Colleges/College-of-Graduate-Studies/Research-resources/M&D-Policies

Units linked to OGS&R

• Institute for Open and Distance Learning (IODL)

The Institute provides support and equip UNISA staff members with the appropriate knowledge and skills to carry out ODeL research, to produce articles and develop research capacity.

• UNESCO Chair on Open Distance Learning (ODL)

The UNESCO Chair on ODL seeks to promote an integrated and co-ordinated system of research, research training, production and dissemination of knowledge on ODL at Unisa.

• Turn it in

Registered Unisa M&D students are enrolled automatically within the college. This enables the students to upload their academic papers to the Turnitin database.  Students LOG IN directly online using their myLife email addresses.  The Unisa Turnitin Team can be contacted on turnitin@unisa.ac.za. For more information click here.

Research Ethics

The College of Education adheres to the Policy on Research Ethics by ensuring that the researcher is informed of his/her responsibilities in conducting ethical research. The CEDU Research Ethics Committee (REC) is mandated to promote compliance through the evaluation of ethics clearance applications. As a result, all students and staff members are required to apply for ethics clearance before the collection of any data. Applications may only be submitted by the supervisor on behalf of the student.

When UNISA staff, students or data form part of your research you also need to obtain permission from the Research Permissions Subcommittee (RPSC) of the Senate Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Degrees Committee after ethical clearance has been obtained from the CEDU REC. The clearance certificate should be appended to the RPCS application. Applications to RPSC need to be submitted through the Office of Graduate Studies and Research, College of Education.

Contact us

Ms LK Nthekenyane
Tel: 012 429 3526
E-mail: ntheklk@unisa.ac.za

Ms P Maapola
Tel: 012 429 6260
E-mail: Kekanp@unisa.ac.za