Academic and Student Perceptions on the Intergation of HIV and AIDS education in an Electrical Engineering Curriculum at a South African University of Technology

Academic and S uden Pe cep ions on he In eg a ion o HIV and AIDS educa ion in an Elec ical Enginee ing Cu iculum a a Sou h A ican Uni e si y o Technology Luwes, Nicolaasa; Meda, Law encea and Swa , Jamesb aDepa men o Elec ical, Elec onic and Compu e Enginee ing, Cen al Uni e si y o Technology, F ee S a e (CUT), Sou h A ica, bAcademic De elopmen & Suppo , Cen al Uni e si y o Technology, F ee S a e (CUT), Sou h A ica, cDepa men o Elec ical, Elec onic and Compu e Enginee ing, Cen al Uni e si y o Technology, F ee S a e (CUT), Sou h A ica. Abs ac Sou h A ica has he la ges numbe o people li ing wi h HIV and AIDS in he wo ld. A conce ed e o is needed o add ess his epidemic, les a socio- economic c isis may c ipple he coun y. Educa ion may be he mos powe ul weapon in his ega d, wi h uni e si ies playing a c i ical ole in add essing his conce n. In 2015, a unding p og am was ini ia ed by Uni e si ies Sou h A ica o acili a e his in eg a ion. Subsequen ly, he Depa men o Elec ical, Elec onic and Compu e Enginee ing a a Sou h A ican Uni e si y o Technology se ou o e-design hei cu icula o include i al aspec s ela ing o HIV and AIDS. A esponsi e d i en cu iculum design was adop ed whe eby he pe cep ions and expec a ions o acili a o s and s uden s in his depa men owa ds HIV and AIDS educa ion we e sough . An online open-ended ques ionnai e was used o ga he bo h quali a i e and quan i a i e esul s. This pape p esen s he ini ial indings o his s udy. A key ecommenda ion o his s udy is o de elop a digi al online module add essing ad anced HIV and AIDS educa ion wi h special ocus on i s applica ion in he wo kplace. Keywo ds: e ia y educa ion; eedback; online module; pe spec i es 2nd In e na ional Con e ence on Highe Educa ion Ad ances, HEAd’16 Uni e si a Poli ` ecnica de Val` encia, Val` encia, 2016 DOI: h p://dx.doi.o g/10.4995/HEAd16.2016.2618 This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Edi o ial Uni e si a Poli ` ecnica de Val` encia 160 Pe cep ions on HIV and AIDS educa ion be ween acili a o s and s uden o Elec ical Enginee ing 1. In oduc ion HIV and AIDS is cu en ly one o he main causes o dea h in a ious coun ies o he wo ld. Sub-Saha a A ica is he wo s a ec ed egion whe e i accoun ed o 74% o mo ali ies due o AIDS ela ed causes in 2013 (UNAIDS, 2014). Whi eside (Whi eside, 2002) s a es ha he es ima ion peak, o decline o he ue dea h oll, canno be es ablished un il he ull wa e o m o he epidemic has been seen, which migh ake as long as 20 yea s. I is also s a ed ha unless he e is a conce ed e o o add ess he socio-economic impac o his disease, in pa icula HIV and AIDS- ela ed po e y, hings will ge much wo se o e he coming yea s and decades. Al hough Sou h A ica (SA) does no ha e he la ges pe cen age o in ec ion, i has he la ges numbe o people li ing wi h he disease in he wo ld, being es ima ed a app oxima ely 5.51 million people (A ica, 2014). HIV and AIDS school educa ion in SA alls unde he li e o ien a ion cu iculum. I s a s wi h basic in o ma ion a p ima y school le el and is u he in eg a ed in o seconda y school cu icula (DoE, 2011), whe e educa ion ocuses p ima ily on in oducing lea ne s o he a ious diseases and how hey may be con ac ed, highligh ing hei basic human igh s, and helping lea ne s o g asp how hey can main ain a ela i ely heal hy li es yle. Recen ly, Uni e si ies SA manda ed all uni e si ies in he coun y o s ep up hei e o s in esponding o his epidemic (HEAIDS, 2010), in a d i e o p o ide on-going and ele an educa ion ega ding his disease. Howe e , epo s indica e ha highe educa ional ins i u ions in SA a e no in eg a ing HIV and AIDS educa ion in o hei cu icula wi h enough igou (De Lange, Van La en, & Tanga, 2014; Tanga, De Lange, & Van La en, 2014). Reason seem o be a pe cep ion ha s uden s ha e lea n e e y hing he e is o know abou he epidemic du ing hei school educa ion (Wilmo & Wood, 2012). Simila esea ch conduc ed by Highe Educa ion AIDS (HEAIDS) concluded ha uni e si ies in SA did no see i easonable o in eg a e HIV and AIDS educa ion in o hei cu icula (HEAIDS, 2010). The ollowing esea ch ques ions he e o e a ise: “A e acili a o s a a Uni e si y o Technology in SA a ou able owa ds including HIV and AIDS educa ion in hei cu icula?” “Wha ype o HIV and AIDS educa ion do s uden s a his uni e si y equi e?” “How may his in eg a ion o HIV and AIDS in o he enginee ing cu iculum be achie ed?” The answe migh lie in he decla a ion ha educa ion is he single mos powe ul weapon agains HIV ansmission (Suka i, Vilaka i, & Esampally, 2010). P o iding his on-going and ele an educa ion may well be achie ed by making use o app op ia e educa ional echnologies in highe educa ion. The Depa men o Elec ical, Elec onic and Compu e Enginee ing a he Cen al Uni e si y o Technology (CUT) in SA se ou o e-design hei cu icula o include HIV and AIDS educa ion by adop ing a esponsi e d i en app oach. The i s s ep in his This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Edi o ial Uni e si a Poli ` ecnica de Val` encia 161 Luwes, N; Meda, L.; Swa , J. app oach in ol ed ob aining he pe cep ions and expec a ions o acili a o s and s uden s owa ds HIV and AIDS educa ion. The pu pose o his pape is o p esen hese esul s and subsequen ecommenda ions. Kosslyn and Rosenbe g’s (Kosslyn & Rosenbe g, 2001) no ion o pe cep ion s a es ha one’s pe cep ion, being ei he posi i e o nega i e, in luences one’s beha iou which in u n a ec s belie s. The impo ance o s uden pe cep ions was discussed as ea ly as 1949 wi h Tyle who s a ed ha s uden ’s iews should be se iously conside ed because hey a e he ecei e s o he cu iculum (Tyle , 2013). Pina (Pina , 2012) s a ed ha a s uden d i en cu iculum p oduces desi able esul s because o i s esponsi e na u e. The pape will i s ly discuss a numbe o cu en HIV and AIDS educa ional p og ammes, ollowed by he esea ch me hodology. Resul s a e p esen ed in co esponding opics so ha co ela ions can be d awn. Conclusions a e discussed wi h possible conside a ions and p oposals o u u e con en de elopmen . 2. HIV and AIDS in highe educa ion In 2010, HEAIDS published he indings o a Rapid Assessmen Su ey as sen o Depu y Vice Chancello s (DVC) and Deans a all Highe Educa ion Ins i u ions (HEI’s) o SA (HEAIDS, 2010). DVCs we e asked o desc ibe hei p io i y ac i i ies wi h ega d o HIV and AIDS educa ion in hei ins i u ions. The esul s o his su ey e ealed ha he e is no gene ic app oach o HIV and AIDS educa ion in Uni e si ies o Technologies, as well as o adi ional uni e si ies in SA. Fu he mo e, hose who did indica e a p io i y ac i i y did so o di e en acul ies. P io i ies we e a e also ague wi h many ocusing p ima ily on c ea ing awa eness o he disease, wi h no indica ion o ac i i ies in Enginee ing. 5 o he17 uni e si ies did no e en indica e p io i y ac i i ies ega ding HIV and AIDS educa ion. No ewo hy is he p io i y ac i i ies o he Uni e si y o KwaZulu-Na al ha aims o p o ide suppo o s uden s and s a o be es ed and o ob ain ea men . One can s a e ha cu en ly in SA, no gene ic app oach exis s o HIV and AIDS educa ion in highe educa ion. I is o conce n ha he las epo on his issue was only documen ed in 2010. Newe s a egies and ac i i ies mus ha e been implemen ed since hen o ensu e he success ul educa ion o s uden s ega ding his epidemic. On a mo e posi i e no e, Uni e si ies SA did ini ia e a unding p og am in 2015 o u he acili a e mo e and in ensi e HIV and AIDS educa ional p og ammes o highe educa ion in SA. The unding p og am includes a sec ion on con en de elopmen which becomes he ocus o his pape in e ms o de e mining wha speci ic con en elec ical enginee ing s uden s a e in e es ed in o such an educa ional p og amme. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Edi o ial Uni e si a Poli ` ecnica de Val` encia 162 Pe cep ions on HIV and AIDS educa ion be ween acili a o s and s uden o Elec ical Enginee ing 3. Me hodology A desc ip i e su ey s udy is used o ga he bo h quali a i e and quan i a i e da a. Desc ip i e s udies can p o ide in o ma ion abou he na u ally occu ing heal h s a us, beha io , a i udes o o he cha ac e is ics o a pa icula g oup, wi hou changing o manipula ing any a iables. This ype o s udy is ideal o use as i seeks o unde s and speci ic people’s iews (Yin, 2013). F aenkel and Wallen (F aenkel, Wallen, & Hyun, 1993) con end ha quali a i e and quan i a i e app oaches a e no diame ically opposed, bu , can complemen one ano he . A quali a i e app oach was p e e ed because i enabled pa icipan s o eely exp ess hei iews, while p o iding ich ex ual da a abou a pa icula phenomenon (C eswell, 2002). A quan i a i e app oach was used o analyse a se ies o closed ended ques ionnai es which we e d awn om he li e a u e. P agma ism was used as a esea ch pa adigm o his s udy, as i is an ideal pa adigm o a mixed me hods app oach (C eswell, 2002). In he mixed me hods esea ch communi y, p agma ism is de ined as a decons uc i e pa adigm ha debunks concep s such as u h and eali y and ocuses ins ead on wha wo ks as he u h ega ding he esea ch ques ions unde in es iga ion (McCoy, 2015). The a ge popula ion was es ic ed o all acili a o s in he Depa men o Elec ical, Elec onic and Compu e Enginee ing a CUT. This nega es he need o a sampling echnique. Howe e , only s uden s en olled o Logic Design III, Elec ical Enginee ing II and Digi al Signal P ocessing IV we e asked o comple e he ques ionnai e, which o ms he da a collec ion ins umen . The eason o his was o i s pilo he ques ionnai e in an a emp o esol e any conce ns, ambigui y, misin e p e a ions, di icul ies, e o s and ques ions o alidi y. Two ques ionnai es we e de eloped, one o acili a o s and one o s uden s. E hical clea ance was eques ed and ecei ed o bo h ques ionnai es. Facili a o ’s and s uden s ques ionnai e’s was loaded on o e-Thu o (lea ning managemen sys em). O he 22 acili a o s in he Depa men , only 9 olun a ily comple ed he ques ionnai e esul ing in a esponse a e o 45%. 17 we e males wi h 3 emales, o which 11 we e black, 1 was colou ed and 8 whi es. The s uden ’s could access he e ques ionnai e du ing No embe 2015. Howe e , only 74 o he 100 a emp ed he ques ionnai e, o which 36 success ully comple ed i . This esul ed in a esponse a e o 36%. The comple ed ques ionnai es we e ecei ed om 28 black s uden s, 4 colou ed s uden s and 4 whi e s uden s. They comp ised 24 male and 12 emale s uden s wi h he majo i y be ween he ages o 21 and 25 yea s o age (23 s uden s). Reasons as o why 38 s uden s did no success ully comple e he online ques ionnai e we e also sough in an e o o imp o e he su ey. Resul s o his p ocess a e no p esen ed in his pape . This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Edi o ial Uni e si a Poli ` ecnica de Val` encia 163 Luwes, N; Meda, L.; Swa , J. The ques ionnai es we e designed o consis o i e speci ic sec ions. The i s sec ion measu ed pa icipan pe cep ions on in eg a ing HIV and AIDS educa ion in o highe educa ion. The second sec ion a ge ed s uden p io knowledge o HIV and AIDS educa ion in o de o e i y wha con en was co e ed a school le el. The hi d sec ion ocused on HIV and AIDS educa ional con en speci ically aimed o he wo kplace. The ou h sec ion sough o ob ain pe cep ions o elec ical enginee ing s uden s wi h ega d o wha o he speci ic con en hey would p e e o see in he HIV and AIDS educa ional p og amme. The i h sec ion ob ained pa icipan esponses wi h ega d o p e e ed modes o deli e y o he educa ional p og amme. 4. Resul s and discussion As s a ed, he pu pose o his pape is o ob ain acili a o and s uden pe cep ions on he in eg a ion o HIV and AIDS educa ion in o an elec ical enginee ing cu icula. These esul s could lead o an e ec i e esponsi e cu iculum design. 4.1. Pe cep ions on HIV and AIDS educa ion I is impo an o de e mine pe cep ions on HIV and AIDS educa ion. Resul s show ha 50% o he acili a o s el ha s uden s ha e been augh enough abou HIV and AIDS in p ima y and seconda y school, and hence i should no be in eg a ed in o he uni e si y cu iculum. Con a y o his, only 10.7% o he s uden s el hey ha e enough knowledge whe e 67.9% o he s uden s s a ed ha hey would like o lea n mo e abou his disease in o de o p o ec hemsel es. Only 37.5% o he acili a o s el ha HIV and AIDS is a p oblem a ec ing e e yone and ha e e y acili a o should each s uden s abou his disease whe e e possible. One can conclude ha 67.9% o he s uden s wan o lea n mo e in o de o make a success o hei u u e ca ee , bu only 37.5% o he acili a o s would ha e a posi i e a i ude owa ds such an educa ional p og amme. So, g ea ca e should be aken when designing and implemen ing an HIV and AIDS educa ional p og amme o highe educa ion, as all acili a o s need o buy in o he concep i i is o be success ul. 4.2. HIV and AIDS educa ion p io knowledge On a e age, 85% o s uden esponses o ques ions on HIV and AIDS educa ion as augh in p ima y and seconda y school we e co ec . 50% o acili a o s indica ed hei con idence in he HIV and AIDS educa ional p og amme p o ided in p ima y and seconda y school by This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Edi o ial Uni e si a Poli ` ecnica de Val` encia 164 Pe cep ions on HIV and AIDS educa ion be ween acili a o s and s uden o Elec ical Enginee ing s a ing ha i was su icien o equip s uden s wi h he necessa y knowledge. These acili a o s he e o e el ha he e is no need o in eg a e ano he HIV and AIDS educa ional p og amme in o he uni e si y cu iculum. Howe e , s uden s wan o lea n mo e, which leads o ques ions abou wha con en o he wo kplace and con en in gene al would s uden s wan o know. 4.3. Wha s uden s wan o lea n abou HIV and AIDS educa ion I is impo an o de e mine wha o he ype o con en would be desi ed by elec ical enginee ing s uden s in a new HIV and AIDS educa ional p og am a uni e si y le el. 15.8 pe cen o he s uden s indica ed ha hey would welcome mo e gene al knowledge on he subjec , he eby sugges ing mo e awa eness is equi ed. 26% o he s uden s indica ed ha olun a y counseling and es ing o HIV and AIDS should be included in he p og am. Wo kplace ela ed conce ns o HIV and AIDS in ec ed people we e u he eques ed by 21.1% o he s uden s. This equa es well wi h he p e ious subsec ion in his ega d. Howe e , he mos eques ed in o ma ion in his ega d ela es o a ious ea men op ions and complica ions o hese ea men s (31.6% eques ed his). Some o he s uden commen s included “How a e people wi h HIV and AIDS ea ed a he wo k en i onmen ”, “How does i co ela e wi h CD4 coun and how a e ARVs used”, “Wha a e he di e en labo a o y es s ha a e pe o med” and “How can I ea and ca e o someone ha ing i ”. These commen s sugges ha some s uden s a e eally conce ned abou how his disease is diagnosed and ea ed. Though s om he acili a o s, wi h ega d o con en , we e concen a ed on p epa ing s uden s on how o ac and beha e when aced wi h a si ua ion o wo king wi h an HIV posi i e colleague. 4.4. Pe cep ions o mode o deli e y A esponsi e cu iculum design would seek pa icipan eedback on di e en modes o deli e y o he equi ed con en . Two main p oposals su aced om he acili a o and s uden ques ionnai es. Fi s ly, 75% o he s uden s indica ed ha hey would p e e he in oduc ion o a compulso y module which should be augh by an HIV and AIDS specialis . This module should ea u e ac oss all le els o educa ion, which each subsequen le el building on p e ious knowledge. One s uden s a ed “I pe sonally hink he e should be a subjec such as Li e Skills (i ’s jus an example) whe e all hese opics can be add essed, e en i i is once e e y mon h o all acul ies. E e y session can be ocused on a di e en opic conce ning he challenges we a e acing in his ega d”. 3 acili a o s commen ed as ollows “HIV and AIDS should be augh o s uden s in gene ic modules such as Li e Skills, no in enginee ing educa ion”, “Ou s uden s ba ely ha e ime o lea n This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Edi o ial Uni e si a Poli ` ecnica de Val` encia 165 Luwes, N; Meda, L.; Swa , J. abou HIV and AIDS. They s uggle wi h ou enginee ing subjec s in such a sho pe iod o ime” and “The syllabus is al eady ull and ime is limi ed, so a his s age he e is no way ha I can b ing his in o my syllabus.” These commen s sugges , ha while s uden s wan a sepa a e module dedica ed o HIV and AIDS educa ion, he e seems o be no place o i in he al eady packed enginee ing cu iculum. This gi es suppo o he second p oposal, being a digi al app oach. 19% o s uden s indica ed ha he con en o he HIV and AIDS educa ional p og amme may be sha ed using e-Thu o, social media, mobile phones and he In e ne . Facili a o s u he indica ed ha “Digi al li e acy is impo an ”. S udy guides and pamphle s may also be inco po a ed in o his digi al app oach. This would a o d s uden s he oppo uni y o e iew he in o ma ion a hei own ime and leisu e. I would also p o ide hose s uden s who eally wan o lea n mo e wi h he needed in o ma ion o make an in o med decision when wo king wi h someone in ec ed wi h HIV and AIDS. 5. Conclusion The pu pose o his pape was o p esen acili a o and s uden pe cep ions o in eg a ing HIV and AIDS educa ion in o an elec ical enginee ing cu iculum. A esponsi e cu iculum design is hus en isioned. Responses om acili a o s indica ed ha such an educa ional p og amme is a was e o ime, as s uden s al eady know enough abou his opic as hey we e augh abou i du ing p ima y and seconda y educa ion. On he o he hand, s uden s el hey do no know enough abou his opic, especially wi h ega d o HIV and AIDS in he elec ical enginee ing wo kplace. Wha chemicals and elec onic equipmen would be p oblema ic o handle by in ec ed pe sonnel? Wha ea men (bo h emo ionally and physically) should be p o ided o someone in he wo kplace ha has been in ec ed? Answe s o hese and o he ques ions may be p o ided by conside ing a digi al app oach. Ins i u ional lea ning managemen sys ems may be used o dissemina e his speci ic in o ma ion o hose s uden s who wan o lea n mo e. This will nega e he need o a specialised module o be inco po a ed in o a ully packed elec ical enginee ing cu iculum. Al hough his desc ip i e su ey s udy was only limi ed o 9 acili a o s and 36 s uden s, i p o ided su icien eason o in es iga e an HIV and AIDS educa ional p og am cen e ed on wo kplace con en . I has also been possible o add ess he conce ns iden i ied in he online ques ionnai e, he eby making i now possible o elease he ques ionnai e o a g ea e pool o s uden s. Resul s o he e ining p ocess o he ques ionnai e and u u e esponses a e planned o ano he pape . The ini ial esul s o his s udy may now al eady be used, in collabo a ion wi h an occupa ional heal h specialis (specialising in HIV and AIDS) o de elop a ele an HIV and AIDS educa ional p og am o CUT. Using such educa ional p og ams in an e ec i e way may jus be he mos powe ul weapon ha This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Edi o ial Uni e si a Poli ` ecnica de Val` encia 166 Pe cep ions on HIV and AIDS educa ion be ween acili a o s and s uden o Elec ical Enginee ing cu en ly exis s o con inue he igh agains HIV and AIDS, which s ill emains one o he leading causes o dea h in Sub-Saha a A ica. Re e ences A ica, S. S. (2014). Mid-yea popula ion es ima es. S a is ics Sou h A ica Re ie ed om h p://www.s a ssa.go .za/publica ions/P0302/P03022014.pd C eswell, J. W. (2002). Educa ional esea ch: Planning, conduc ing, and e alua ing quan i a i e: P en ice Hall. DBE, R. (2011). Cu iculum and Assessmen Policy S a emen GRADES 10-12 Li e O ien a ion. Depa men o Basic Educa ion Re ie ed om h p://www.educa ion.go .za. De Lange, N., Van La en, L., & Tanga, P. (2014). 'Close o he bone'?: ca alys s o in eg a ing HIV and AIDS in o he academic cu iculum. 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Case s udy esea ch: Design and me hods: Sage publica ions. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Edi o ial Uni e si a Poli ` ecnica de Val` encia 168