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

The experiences of black women at an historically white university

M.Ed.The aim of this study was to explore, with the intention of providing a rich description, the experiences of black women enrolled at an historically white university. Limited studies in the South African context have revealed that many women have alienating and marginalising experiences in formal education from as early as primary schooling up to their learning experiences as adults. This often takes the form of disrespect from patriarchal teachers and institutions or androcentric content or information that excludes or undermines the efforts and experiences of women. Furthermore, the general position of women in broader society is filled with disparity and devaluation, as women are often the primary care givers, the lowest paid employees in formal employment, and unpaid workers within the family structure. For black women, who are often triply exploited through race, gender and economic disadvantage, the struggle to belong and even survive within higher ' education appears to be more challenging. As a result, black women sometimes view the university as alienating, androcentric and patriarchal which leads to descriptions of feeling restricted, silent, invisible or the 'other'. Traditional and cultural restrictions placed on black women often further exacerbate these experiences. Consequently, black women's stories are neither told nor heard within broader society or within texts in higher education institutions. The overarching perspective in which the study was grounded was that of socio constructivism, using qualitative research methods to explore the experiences of black women pursuing post graduate studies at an historically white university. Data for this study were collected via semi-structured, in-depth interviews with ten black women within the Education Faculty. I used the constant comparative method of data analysis to search for recurring themes and patterns. From the findings, it was clear that the prevailing perception of participants was that racial bias was present in almost every experience in higher education. In addition participants cited a number of constraints, which impacted negatively on their experiences. Many participants also reported a perceived lack of support from lecturers, which exacerbated an already challenging situation. As opposed to the many negative experiences, some positive experiences related to professional growth and learning opportunities were cited. Some participants also made observations about measures for the university to become more accessible to black women. The main implications arising out of the study are that management needs to endorse policy to deal with issues of both obvious and subtle racial bias. Staff development training, which incorporates methods for dealing appropriately with adult learners and practices that promote woman-positive and culturally responsive programmes, must compliment this. In addition, greater support should be afforded students, particularly part- time students, for increased opportunities to consult with lecturers and effective language tutoring. Accessible measures for part time students to raise their complaints via the SRC should also be created. Moreover, serious consideration needs to be given to the provision of adequate, affordable and efficient childcare facilities as a service for all students

Contemplating the heart of social justice in a teacher education service learning (TESL) module: A case study for using troubling dialogues to teach social justice

Abstract: The violence of Apartheid capitalism in South Africa (SA) shaped our experiences and identities resulting in painful and traumatic personal narratives and polarised human relations, which affects how we make sense of the world. Some critical pedagogical approaches provide guidance for engaging with these in the classroom, but not many focus specifically on the embodied and affective experiences of injustice, nor provide post oppositional ways for healing injustice. Located within a critical theory framework and utilising a critical pedagogy of discomfort, I explored a specific approach to teacher education (TE) using Service Learning (SL) underpinned by contemplative practice for advocating responsive and engaged teaching. Working within an interpretivist paradigm, I examined a specific TESL (Teacher Education Service Learning) module as a case study to provide a scholarly account of how students engaged with social justice through troubling dialogues...Ph.D. (Education

Post-basic nursing students’ reflections on their experiences of dialogic mediation

This article presents post-basic nursing students’ reflections on the way they experienced the pedagogy of dialogic mediation. The study addressed current debates about appropriate teaching methodologies for students in such a degree course and the role of the nurse educator in this regard. The authors used a qualitative research approach and posed the following research question: What are students’ reflections of their experiences of dialogic mediation and the influence of this on their ideas of teaching and learning? The study involved a cohort of students (n = 248) who were enrolled in a semester-long course in a post-basic nursing degree at a South African university. They were asked to respond to three open-ended questions regarding their experiences of a course that required engagement with a new teaching and learning strategy which expected active involvement. Data were collected from students’ written reflections and were analysed by searching for recurring themes and patterns. The findings revealed that students experienced extreme levels of frustration at the beginning of the course as their existing ideas about teaching and learning were challenged. They also found the new teaching techniques associated with this pedagogy to be demanding. However, once they understood the underlying principles and ideas, they began to understand the implications for their own learning and teaching practices. Hierdie artikel handel oor nabasiese-verpleegstudente se nadenke oor die wyse waarop hulle die pedagogie van dialogiese bemiddeling ervaar het. Hierdie studie het aandag gegee aan huidige debatte oor geskikte onderrigmetodologieë vir studente in so ‘n graadkursus en die rol van die verpleegkundige-opvoeder in hierdie opset. Die outeurs het ’n kwalitatiewe navorsingsbenadering gebruik en het die volgende navorsingsvraag gestel: Wat is studente se nadenke oor hul ervarings van dialogiese bemiddeling en die invloed daarvan op hul idees van onderrig en leer? Die studie het ’n spesiefike kohort studente (n = 248) wat ingeskryf is by ’n semesterkursus in ’n nabasiese verpleeggraadprogram aan ’n Suid-Afrikaanse universiteit ingesluit. Hulle is gevra om op drie oop vrae te reageer oor hul ervarings van ’n kursus wat betrokkenheid by ’n nuwe onderrig- en leerstrategie vereis en waar aktiewe deelname verwag word. Data is uit studente se skriftelike nadenke ingesamel en is ontleed deur vir herhalende temas en patrone te soek. Die bevindings het getoon dat studente uiterste vlakke van frustrasie aan die begin van die kursus ervaar het, aangesien hul bestaande onderrig en leer uitgedaag is. Hulle het ook die nuwe onderrigtegniek wat met hierdie pedagogie gepaardgaan veeleisend gevind. Nadat hulle egter die onderliggende beginsels en idees verstaan het, het hulle begin om die implikasies van hul eie leer- en onderrigpraktyke te verstaan