HREDU82/101/0/2024

Tutorial Letter 101/0/2024

Research Project in Education

HREDU82

Year Module

Department of Educational Foundations

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please register on myUnisa, activate your myLife e-mail account and
make sure that you have regular access to the myUnisa module
website, HED4804-24-Y, as well as your group website.

Note: This is a fully online module. It is, therefore, only available on myUnisa.

BARCODE
 CONTENTS

Page

1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 4
2 MODULE OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................. 5
2.2 Outcomes and assessment criteria ............................................................................................... 5
3 CURRICULUM TRANSFORMATION ........................................................................................... 6
4 COORDINATOR AND CONTACT DETAILS ................................................................................ 7
4.1 Coordinator ................................................................................................................................... 7
4.2 Project Leaders............................................................................................................................. 7
4.3 Department ................................................................................................................................... 8
4.3 University ...................................................................................................................................... 8
5 RESOURCES ............................................................................................................................... 8
5.1 Prescribed book(s) ........................................................................................................................ 8
5.2 Recommended book(s) ................................................................................................................. 8
5.3 Electronic reserves (e-reserves) ................................................................................................ 8
6 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES ................................................................................................ 9
6.1 First-Year Experience Programme .............................................................................................. 10
7. STUDY PLAN ............................................................................................................................. 11
8 HOW TO STUDY ONLINE .......................................................................................................... 11
8.1 What does it mean to study fully online? ..................................................................................... 11
9. ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................................................... 11
9.1 Assessment criteria..................................................................................................................... 11
9.2 Assessment plan ........................................................................................................................ 11
9.3 Assessment due dates ................................................................................................................ 11
9.4 Submission of assessments ........................................................................................................ 12
9.4.1 Types of assignments and descriptions ...................................................................................... 13
9.5 The assessments ........................................................................................................................ 14
9.6 The examination ......................................................................................................................... 14
10. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY ........................................................................................................ 14
10.1 Plagiarism ................................................................................................................................... 14
10.2 Cheating ..................................................................................................................................... 14
10.3 For more information about plagiarism, follow the link below: ..................................................... 14
11. STUDENTS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES .................................................................................. 14

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12. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ........................................................................................ 14

13. SOURCES CONSULTED ........................................................................................................... 15
14. IN CLOSING ............................................................................................................................... 15
15. ADDENDUM ............................................................................................................................... 15

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1 INTRODUCTION
Dear Student

We are pleased to welcome you to the module, and we hope that you will find it interesting,
useful, inspiring and rewarding.
This module could put you on track for a research-based master’s degree in education.
You are expected to write a research report or a research proposal in a particular educational
sub-discipline. This module culminates in a portfolio or a research report.
HREDU82 is a fully online module available on myUnisa.
Read this tutorial letter carefully and keep it at hand when working through the study material,
preparing the assignments and the final portfolio, and addressing questions to your lecturers.
This tutorial letter contains general and administrative information about this module.
This is a 36-credit module and consequently requires you to devote 360 notional hours to it.
Regularly monitor the announcements since some of the elements in this tutorial letter may
change.
You have access to the main module site (HREDU82) and to your project site.
You will have the opportunity to choose a project in an educational sub-discipline.
Ensure that you remain up to date with communication on the main module site.
Unisa is a comprehensive open distance e-learning (CODeL) higher education institution. The
comprehensiveness of our curricula encapsulates a range of offerings, from strictly vocational to
strictly academic certificates, diplomas and degrees. Unisa's "openness" and its distance
eLearning character result in many students registering at Unisa who may not have had an
opportunity to enrol in higher education. Our CODeL character implies that our programmes are
carefully planned and structured to ensure success for students ranging from the under-
prepared but with potential to the sufficiently prepared.

Teaching and learning in a CODeL context involves multiple modes of delivery ranging from
blended learning to fully online. As a default position, all post graduate programmes are offered
fully online with no printed study materials, while undergraduate programmes are offered in a
blended mode of delivery where printed study materials are augmented with online teaching
and learning via the learner management system – myUnisa. In some instances, undergraduate
programmes are offered fully online as well.

Furthermore, our programmes are aligned with the vision, mission and values of the University.
Unisa's commitment to serve humanity and shape futures combined with a clear appreciation of
our location on the African continent, Unisa's graduates have distinctive graduate qualities
which include

• independent, resilient, responsible and caring citizens who are able to fulfil and serve in
multiple roles in their immediate and future local, national and global communities

• having a critical understanding of their location on the African continent with its histories,
challenges and potential in relation to globally diverse contexts

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• the ability to critically analyse and evaluate the credibility and usefulness of information
and data from multiple sources in a globalised world with its ever-increasing information
and data flows and competing worldviews

• how to apply their discipline-specific knowledges competently, ethically and creatively to

solve real-life problems

• an awareness of their own learning and developmental needs and future potential

This is a fully online module (all information is available via the internet) where we use myUnisa
as our virtual campus. This is an online system that is used to administer, document and deliver
educational material to you and support engagement with you. Look out for information from
your lecturer as well as other Unisa platforms to determine how to access the virtual myUnisa
module site. Information on the tools that will be available to engage with the lecturer and fellow
students to support your learning will also be communicated via various platforms.

You are encouraged to log into the module site (HED4804-24-Y) on myUnisa regularly (that is,
at least twice per week).

We wish you every success with your studies!

2 MODULE OVERVIEW
2.1 Purpose
This module builds on Research Theories and Methods in Education (RSE4801) to provide the
opportunity to conceptualise and/or to engage in an own research project in education. This
entails the formulation of a research problem that emerges from your educational practice, the
engagement with relevant theories and concepts, the development of a research design and
reflection on research ethics. In this process, you acquire the knowledge, skills and dispositions
to participate in the generation of knowledge that could contribute towards quality and relevant
education. It is expected that your research project will speak to issues of decolonisation,
Africanisation and indigenisation of education and educational research. You are also enabled
to further your journey as researchers through further studies.

2.2 Outcomes and assessment criteria

Outcomes Assessment criteria

Apply key elements of the research process Students are able to:
in a research project. • Identify a research problem
• Justify the need for researching the
problem
• Conduct a critical literature review
• Describe the research paradigm,
research design and methodology
• Discuss relevant theories and
concepts
• Describe and adhere to ethical

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 requirements
• Collect/use provided data and
analyse the data to address the
research question, where applicable
• Discuss findings and make justified
recommendations, where applicable
• Write in an appropriate academic
register and use sound academic
reference techniques
Compile a research report or write an Write up the report detailing the research
extended research proposal showing process. OR
mastery of the assessment criteria above.
Write an extended research proposal.

3 CURRICULUM TRANSFORMATION
Unisa has implemented a transformation charter, in terms of which the university has placed
curriculum transformation high on the teaching and learning agenda. Curriculum transformation
includes student-centred scholarship, the pedagogical renewal of teaching and assessment
practices, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and the infusion of African epistemologies
and philosophies. All of these will be phased in at both programme and module levels, and as a
result of this you will notice a marked change in the teaching and learning strategy implemented
by Unisa, together with the way in which the content is conceptualised in your modules. We
encourage you to embrace these changes during your studies at Unisa in a responsive way
within the framework of transformation.

This module fully utilises the OdeL teaching and learning model.
The OdeL model differs from the traditional distance learning model in the following ways:

• The exploration and utilisation of technologies that overcome physical distances and
that create new spaces for teaching and learning
• Opportunities for synchronous and asynchronous interactions
• Opportunities for online collaborative learning
• Regular interaction between lecturers and students
• A dynamic learning environment, which entails the shift from the use of static
documents (such as the tutorial letters) to live online links to updated information

The OdeL model demands the following from lecturers:

• The careful planning of the online teaching and learning space and processes
• Clear and regular communication
• Articulation of expectations and assessment criteria to promote self-directed learning
• Up-to-date information about due dates and assignment submission processes
• Ongoing support and feedback

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It demands from students:

• Self-directedness: This entails demands such as the ability to take responsibility for you
own learning, to organise your learning schedule, to monitor your own progress, to set
learning outcomes and to evaluate yourself against the module outcomes and
assessment criteria.
• Regular interaction with the module site to keep up to date with new information.
• Continuous monitoring of the myLife e-mail account

Studying in this context may differ from studying at a residential university or even from some of
your other modules at Unisa. It has the following features:

• All your study material and learning activities are only available online.
• All your assignments must only be submitted online. We do not accept assignments by
e-mail or by post.
• All communication between you and the university happens online. Lecturers will
communicate with you via the Announcements and Forum tools and e-mail. You can
also use the forums to ask questions.
• We may also arrange synchronous (live) online discussion sessions.
• Communication of a more personal nature can be addressed to the lecturer by e-mail.

We hope that by giving you extra ways to study the material and practise all the activities, you
will succeed in the online module.

4 COORDINATOR AND CONTACT DETAILS

4.1 Coordinator

The coordinator for this module is:

Prof DJvR Postma

Department:Educational Foundations
Telephone: 012-4294065
E-mail: postmdj@unisa.ac.za

The co-coordinator is

Dr Themba Mkhize
mkhiztr@unisa.ac.za

4.2 Project Leaders

Information about the project leaders is available on the module site.

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The project leaders will provide guidance and resources related to their disciplines. All
academic queries should be addressed to the project leader. When communicating by e-mail,
use your myLife e-mail account and provide your student number and the module code in the
subject line.

4.3 Department

This module is managed within the Department of Educational Foundations, College of

Education.
Address: PO Box 392, UNISA, 0003
Secretary
Mrs D Tjikana
ndaladn1@unisa.ac.za
RS Radipere Building 6-82
012 429 6009

Chair of Department
Prof N Madikizela-Madiya
madiyn@unisa.ac.za
RS Radipere Building 6-80

4.3 University

Contact addresses of the various administrative departments appear on the Unisa website:
http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Contact-us/Student-enquiries.

Please include the student number in all correspondence

5 RESOURCES
All the resources are online and available on the module site.
The required library links are on the module site.

5.1 Prescribed book(s)

There is no prescribed book.

5.2 Recommended book(s)

See the module site under additional resources.

5.3 Electronic reserves (e-reserves)

See the module site.

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E-reserves can be downloaded from the library webpage

Find e-reserves. More information is available at: http://oasis.unisa.ac.za/search/r

5.4 Library services and resources

The Unisa Library offers a range of information services and resources. The library has created
numerous library guides, available at http://libguides.unisa.ac.za
Recommended guides:

• For brief information on the library, go to https://www.unisa.ac.za/library/libatglance

• For more detailed library information, go to
http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library
• Frequently Asked Questions,
visit https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Frequently-Asked-Questions
• For research support and services such as the Personal Librarian service and the
Information Search Librarian's Literature
Search Request (on your research topic) service,
visit http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Library-services/Research-
support.
• For library training for undergraduate
students, visit https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Library-
services/Training
• Lending Services https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Library-
services/Lending-services
• Services for Postgraduate students -
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Services-for-Postgraduates
• Support and Services for students with disabilities -
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Services-for-students-with-
special-needs
• Library Technology Support -https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/techsupport
• Finding and using library resources and tools -
http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/Research_skills
• A–Z list of library databases – https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/az.php

Important contact information:

• Technical problems encountered in accessing library online services: Lib-
help@unisa.ac.za
• General library-related queries: Library-enquiries@unisa.ac.za
• Queries related to library fines and payments: Library-fines@unisa.ac.za
• Interlibrary loan service for postgraduate students: libr-ill@unisa.ac.za
• Literature Search Service: Lib-search@unisa.ac.za
• Social media channels: Facebook: UnisaLibrary and Twitter: @UnisaLibrary

6 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

The Study @ Unisa brochure is available on myUnisa: www.unisa.ac.za/brochures/studies

This brochure contains important information and guidelines for successful studies through
Unisa.

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If you need assistance with regard to the myModules system, you are welcome to use the
following contact details:

• Toll-free landline: 0800 00 1870 (Select option 07 for myModules)

• E-mail: mymodules22@unisa.ac.za or myUnisaHelp@unisa.ac.za

You can access and view short videos on topics such as how to view your calendar, how to
access module content, how to view announcements for modules, how to submit assessment
and how to participate in forum activities via the following link: https://dtls-
qa.unisa.ac.za/course/view.php?id=32130

Registered Unisa students get a free myLife e-mail account. Important information, notices
and updates are sent exclusively to this account. Please note that it can take up to 24 hours
for your account to be activated after you have claimed it. Please do this immediately after
registering at Unisa, by following this link: myLifeHelp@unisa.ac.za

Your myLife account is the only e-mail account recognised by Unisa for official
correspondence with the university and will remain the official primary e-mail address on
record at Unisa. You remain responsible for the management of this e-mail account.

6.1 First-Year Experience Programme

Many students find the transition from school education to tertiary education stressful. This is
also true in the case of students enrolling at Unisa for the first time. Unisa is a dedicated open
distance and e-learning institution, and it is very different from face-to-face/contact institutions. It
is a mega university, and all our programmes are offered through either blended learning or fully
online learning. It is for this reason that we thought it necessary to offer first-time students
additional/extended support to help them seamlessly navigate the Unisa teaching and learning
journey with little difficulty and few barriers. We therefore offer a specialised student support
programme to students enrolling at Unisa for the first time – this is Unisa’s First-Year
Experience (FYE) Programme, designed to provide you with prompt and helpful information
about services that the institution offers and how you can access information. The following FYE
services are currently offered:

FYE Website Email Support

www.unisa.ac.za/FYE fye@unisa.ac.za
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FYE1500
Post
myUnisa; Study
Registration
Referrals to Skills; Academic &
Orientation Digital Literacies;
other support
services i.e. etc
Counselling;
Reading & Writing
workshops

To ensure that you do not miss out on important academic and support communication
from the SRU, please check your myLife inbox regularly.

7. STUDY PLAN
See the module site

8 HOW TO STUDY ONLINE

8.1 What does it mean to study fully online?

See section 3 above.

9. ASSESSMENT
9.1 Assessment criteria

See the module site.

9.2 Assessment plan

See the module site.

9.3 Assessment due dates

• There are no assignment due dates included in this tutorial letter.

• Assignment due dates will be made available to you on the myUnisa landing page
for this module. We envisage that the due dates will be available to you upon
registration.

• Please start working on your assessments as soon as you register for the module.

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 • Log on to the myUnisa site for this module to obtain more information on the due
dates for the submission of the assessments.

9.4 Submission of assessments

• Unisa, as a comprehensive open distance e-learning institution (CODeL), is moving

towards becoming an online institution. You will therefore see that all your study
material, assessments and engagements with your lecturer and fellow students will
take place online. We use myUnisa as our virtual campus.

• The myUnisa virtual campus will offer students access to the myModules site,
where learning material will be available online and where assessments should be
completed. This is an online system that is used to administer, document, and
deliver educational material to students and support engagement between
academics and students.

• The myUnisa platform can be accessed via https://my.unisa.ac.za. Click on the

myModules 2024 button to access the online sites for the modules that you are
registered for.

• The university undertakes to communicate clearly and as frequently as is necessary

to ensure that you obtain the greatest benefit from the use of the myModules
learning management system. Please access the announcements on your
myModules site regularly, as this is where your lecturer will post important
information to be shared with you.

• When you access your myModules site for the module/s you are registered for, you
will see a welcome message posted by your lecturer. Below the welcome message
you will see the assessment shells for the assessments that you need to complete.
Some assessments may be multiple choice, some tests, others written
assessments, some forum discussions, and so on. All assessments must be
completed on the assessment shells available on the respective module platforms.

• To complete quiz assessments, please log on to the module site where you need to
complete the assessment. Click on the relevant assessment shell (Assessment 1,
Assessment 2, etc.). There will be a date on which the assessment will open for
you. When the assessment is open, access the quiz online and complete it within
the time available to you. Quiz assessment questions are not included in this tutorial
letter (Tutorial Letter 101) and are only made available online. You must therefore
access the quiz online and complete it online where the quiz has been created.

• It is not advisable to use a cell phone to complete the quiz. Please use a desktop
computer, tablet or laptop when completing the quiz. Students who use a cell phone
find it difficult to navigate the Online Assessment tool on the small screen and
often struggle to navigate between questions and successfully complete the
quizzes. In addition, cell phones are more vulnerable to dropped internet
connections than other devices. If at all possible, please do not use a cell phone
for this assessment type.

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• For written assessments, please note the due date by which the assessment must
be submitted. Ensure that you follow the guidelines given by your lecturer to
complete the assessment. Click on the submission button on the relevant
assessment shell on myModules. You will then be able to upload your written
assessment on the myModules site of the modules that you are registered for.
Before you finalise the upload, double check that you have selected the correct file
for upload. Remember, no marks can be allocated for incorrectly submitted
assessments.

9.4.1 Types of assignments and descriptions

All assignments are defined as either optional, mandatory, compulsory, or elective.

• Elective assignments
- If not submitted, the student gets no mark for this item.
- The best of the required submissions will count.
• Mandatory assignments
- If not submitted, the student gets no mark for this item.
• Compulsory assignments
- If not submitted, the result on the student’s academic record will be absent.
• Optional assignments – You are encouraged as a student to do optional
assignment so that it may benefit your learning.

I. Elective assignments
a. the student is given a choice of which assignments within an identified group to
submit, only the best result(-s), the number of which is specified in advance, will
contribute towards the year mark.
b. elective assignments must also be grouped into an elective group.
c. for the student to select which assignment to submit, the elective assignments must
be grouped together. For such an elective group, relevant information must be
provided to the student, such as how many of the assignments must be submitted
and how many of the assignment marks should be combined into the year mark.
d. The selection criteria define how marks received for assignments in an elective group
are to be combined into the year mark. Three different criteria may be used for
calculating the year mark:
• The best mark should be used, or
• If the student submits fewer than the required number of assignments per group or
no assignment in a group, a mark of 0% will be used.
• 0% is awarded to all non-submitted or unmarked assessments. A best mark is
then calculated from all items.

II. Mandatory assignments

a. contribute to the year mark.
b. If a student fails to submit a mandatory assignment, no mark is awarded and the year
mark is calculated accordingly. The student will therefore forfeit the marks attached to
this assignment when the final mark for the module is calculated.
III. Compulsory Assessment
a. when not submitted, the student will fail a Continuous Assessment module but will be
shown as absent from the examination in the case of other modules.

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 IV. Optional assignments – You are encouraged as a student to do optional assignment so
that it may benefit your learning.

9.5 The assessments

All the assessment tasks are available on the module site.

9.6 The examination

There is not examination in this module.

10. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

10.1 Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the act of taking the words, ideas and thoughts of others and presenting them as
your own. It is a form of theft. Plagiarism includes the following forms of academic dishonesty:

• Copying and pasting from any source without acknowledging the source.
• Not including references or deliberately inserting incorrect bibliographic information.
• Paraphrasing without acknowledging the original source of the information.

10.2 Cheating
Cheating includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Completing assessments on behalf of another student, copying the work of another

student during an assessment, or allowing another student to copy your work.
• Using social media (e.g. WhatsApp, Telegram) or other platforms to disseminate
assessment information.
• Submitting corrupt or irrelevant files, this forms part of examination guidelines
• Buying completed answers from so-called “tutors” or internet sites (contract cheating).

10.3 For more information about plagiarism, follow the link below:
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/Study-@-Unisa/Student-values-and-rules

11. STUDENTS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES

The Advocacy and Resource Centre for Students with Disabilities (ARCSWiD) provides an
opportunity for staff to interact with first-time and returning students with disabilities.
If you are a student with a disability and would like additional support or need additional time for
assessments, you are invited to contact (name and e-mail address of the lecturer must be
inserted) to discuss the assistance that you need.

12. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

See the module site

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13. SOURCES CONSULTED

See the module site

14. IN CLOSING
Do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail if you are experiencing problems with the content of this
tutorial letter or with any academic aspect of the module.
We wish you a fascinating and satisfying journey through the learning material, and trust that
you will complete the module successfully.
Enjoy the journey!
Module lecturers

15. ADDENDUM
Glossaries are available on the module site.

©
Unisa 2024

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