Students’ perceptions of availability of infrastructure and resources in a Faculty of Education: a transformative agenda

Abstract

The history of the South African education system, with its differentiated system during the apartheid era, is a thorny one. During this era, the government used different funding formula for White and Black universities, which meant that university per capita and concomitant infrastructure and resources were distributed unequally. After 1994, the country obtained its democracy. Consequently, there was a need to adjust funding so that universities could receive equitable distribution of infrastructure and resources. Nonetheless, literature suggests that it is a challenge for Black universities that were poorly resourced to catch up, in spite of the efforts of the State to close this gap. Ample research shows that infrastructure and resources influence teaching and learning. This study investigated students’ perceptions of availability of infrastructure and resources in a Faculty of Education. The research question was: What are students’ perceptions of availability of infrastructure and resources in a Faculty of Education? A purposive sample of 254 Bachelor of Education students was used. Quantitative data were collected through close-ended questionnaires using the Likert scale with five categories. For data analysis, descriptive statistics were performed on each question in the questionnaire to determine the mean score and the distribution of scores, which were presented in the form of bar graphs. Results revealed that the majority of students perceived availability of infrastructure and resources negatively. Since infrastructure and resources influence teaching and learning, transformation of the teaching and learning spaces needs to be prioritized to provide high quality education and success of all students