3 research outputs found
How to be or not to be? A critical dialogue on the limitations and opportunities of academic development in the current higher education context
In the tumultuous time we find ourselves, debates about pedagogy have taken centre stage once again. Concerns raised by the student protests of 2015 and 2016 have highlighted the urgent need to re-think traditional teaching, learning and assessment practices, as well as the development of decolonised and transformative curricula.Traditional notions of academic and professional development are now being tested and contested, insofar as they are able to respond to student challenges in appropriate, responsive, legitimate and relevant ways. As a professional organisation dedicated to supporting learning and teaching, the executive team of HELTASA responded to the challenge in this article by engaging with perspectives on the purpose, role and conceptualisation of academic development in the current decolonial moment in the South African Higher Education landscape. Critical processes that enable academics to engage, share thoughts and debate epistemological, pedagogical and methodological options to support students and academics are much needed. And the context and spirit in which these debates occur may be as important as the debates themselves.At its annual conference, the executive team facilitated a critical dialogue with conference delegates on the limitations and opportunities of AD in our current context. Given the diverse teaching and learning contexts and institutional differentiation in the sector, this article explores individual and collective theorised observations, reflections and experiences of the seven facilitators who led the CD. These reflections were analysed and discussed against the backdrop of AD as well as the affordances of CD as a participatory learning and engagement methodology. The findings showed that there is dire need to re-imagine, not only AD’s role but alternative forms of critical engagement in the sector
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Analysis of the Implementation of SDGs as Part of Community Engagement Activities at South African Universities: An Exploratory Study
Journal articles of The 7th Annual International Conference on Public Administration and Development Alternatives, 14 - 16 September 2022The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) developed and adopted by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) in September 2015 have created a new understanding of social responsibilities. The SDGs
are a framework for building or creating a more sustainable future for all by 2030. Decision-makers in numerous
industries have regarded the SDGs' implementation as a challenging undertaking. University community
engagement initiatives undertaken by universities is one of the ways that can fast track the implementation
of the SDGs. Universities are in a position to train and prepare the next generation with the skills required
in the implementation of SDGs by involving students in their community engagement endeavors. Therefore,
research on how universities are conducting their community engagement initiatives to incorporate SDGs is
necessary. The objective of this study was to explore how the South African universities have incorporated the
SDGs in their community engagement initiatives and what their SDGs priorities are. The focus of this study was
on the eighteen traditional universities in South Africa. Universities' annual reports were examined using a
qualitative exploratory approach and a content analysis research method was used to review the universities'
involvement with SDGs. ATLAS.ti. was used as a data analysiss tool for this study. The findings indicate most
South African universities incorporate SDGs in their community engagement initiatives. The universities' community
engagement initiatives are directed towards achieving SDG 4 (quality education), SDG 17, which centres
around partnerships to achieve the goals, and SDG 5 (gender equality). Universities are working cooperatively
and have already begun referencing and integrating SDGs in their reporting. However, the incorporation of
SDGs into the universities' community engagement reporting is not sufficient as some universities are not yet
mentioning SDGs in their annual report
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[Letter] “Should sustainable consumption and production be a policy priority for developing countries and if so, what areas should they focus on?”
The Natural Resources Forum – A United Nations Sustainable Development Journal is running a special series over the 2009–2011 period on themes to be considered by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in its 18th and 19th sessions: chemicals, mining, sustainable consumption and production, transport and waste management. In this issue, experts address the question: “Should sustainable consumption and production be a policy priority for developing countries and if so, what areas should they focus on