University of Western Cape UWC Institute for Post School Studies IPSS
UWC Institute for Post School Studies IPSS – See Details Below:
Institute for Post School Studies
Aims
The Institute for Post-School Studies (IPSS), brings together research, teaching and social engagement in the areas of Adult Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education. The formation of the IPSS recognises the critical role of post-schooling in addressing South Africa’s development needs, and the challenges which inhibit youth and adults from reaching their full potential.
The primary focus of the IPSS will be to generate knowledge through research, training and development activities that will lead to a better understanding of the many dimensions of post schooling. This will contribute to building a broader knowledge base on post-schooling, and assist in reflecting on policy and implementation. This new Institute intends to become a citadel of excellence nationally and internationally in the emerging hybrid field that is post-school studies
Activities
Research activities of the IPSS will be geared towards generating local knowledge on post schooling and to researching global trends. Globally, differentiation, diversification, access and mobility are recurrent themes in debates on expansion of post-school systems. Differentiation and articulation in a post-school system are key concerns in South Africa, and these concerns are shared by the constituent parts of the IPSS. A second major focus of the IPSS will be professional development that builds the capacity of the post-school sector through relevant training and research programmes in adult education, higher education and vocational education. The Institute will establish a coherent suite of under and post-graduate programmes in its three constituent fields as well as cross-cutting programmes in Post-school Studies. Appropriate Masters and PhD qualifications will build a cadre of academics in post-school research which will expand the pool of expertise in South Africa.