an investigative analysis of the psychological characteristics and job ...

professions and builds on the need to interact and be inter-dependent in co-creating education and
work.
According to Pienaar (1990:105) the task of co-ordinating does not consist of the supervision of co­
operative education activities alone. The co-operative education programme must be organised,
co-ordinated and monitored effectively, otherwise the system will not stand the test of time.
The GEL can make or break the programme. The GEL is totally responsible for bridging the gap
that exists in modem society between the world of education and the world of work. Therefore the
GEL is the person that takes on full responsibility for the administration and co-ordination of the
co-operative education programme and he is the person to whom the students are accountable at
all times.
Davis and Davis (1998:364) concur and supplement it when they state that experience-based
learning refers to sponsored or guided experiences identified or established for the express
purpose of bringing about learning. In most cases this involves procedures for selecting or
assigning the experience, planning for it, supervising it and making provisions for participants to
reflect on the experience.
It is apparent that the GEL has a wide variety of roles and responsibilities. He will be obligated to
be accountable for these roles and responsibilities in order to ensure client satisfaction. The client
in this case is the student the studenfs employer or the academic institution.
The role and responsibility of the GEL will be discussed in detail in the following four sections. For
the sake of clarity the roles and responsibilities of a GEL will be divided into four categories,
namely:
• Role and responsibility relative to students.
• Role and responsibility relative to employers.
• Role and responsibility relative to the institution.
• Role and responsibility relative to administration.
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