Academic inbreeding and isolation in South African psychology

Several factors have contributed to the fact that academic inbreeding and isolation have reached almost epidemic proportions at South African universities. Although this phenomenon has been described as a cancer in tertiary education, almost no data are available regarding the specific prevalence o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jan Fouché, Dap Louw
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2001-12-01
Series:Acta Academica
Online Access:https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/aa/article/view/651
Description
Summary:Several factors have contributed to the fact that academic inbreeding and isolation have reached almost epidemic proportions at South African universities. Although this phenomenon has been described as a cancer in tertiary education, almost no data are available regarding the specific prevalence of inbreeding and isolation in academic psychology in South Africa. The present study aims to make a contribution in this regard. More than 1 000 questionnaires were distributed to academics and professionals to determine how many of them have obtained their qualifications from a single university; whether they were, at the time of the study, employed at a university from which they had graduated; what overseas training they had had; how many were members of international psychological associations; their attitudes towards continuing education, and to what extent they utilised computer networks. The findings are presented and recommendations made.
ISSN:0587-2405
2415-0479