scholarly journals South African students call to decolonize science: Implications for international standards, curriculum development and Public Administration education

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa C van Jaarsveldt ◽  
Michiel S de Vries ◽  
Hendri J Kroukamp
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
International Standards ◽  
African Students ◽  
Student Protests ◽  
Higher Education Curriculum ◽  
International Trends ◽  
Global Standards

The decolonialisation of the higher education curriculum and free higher education were two of the burning issues during student protests that erupted across universities in South Africa at the end of 2015. Although the president announced free higher education in December 2017, the country can scarcely afford it, with many universities already feeling financial constraints. The call for decolonialisation of the curriculum by students (which was viewed negatively by the public) refers specifically to books, theories and learning content that still predominantly reflect the thoughts of Western colonial powers. Students required a bigger focus on indigenous (African) knowledge to be incorporated into the South African curriculum. This, however, is the opposite of current international trends, where curricula are developed to meet international or even global standards that are set by international accreditation agencies in Public Administration, such as the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration and the International Commission on Accreditation of Public Administration Education and Training Programs. Therefore, this article investigates not only the direction the discipline of Public Administration is taking with regard to international standards and the curricula, but also to specifics of governance in developing countries. Are there reasonable arguments to support the demand for changes to the content of this discipline and is there a need to adjust curricula to concede to the wishes of the protesting students for the decolonising of science? This article found that international scholarly requirements, specific national conditions for governance and the demands uttered by students in the development of curricula at South African universities are at odds, particularly in the study of Public Administration.

Creating epistemic access through a scaffold approach: Academic literacy skills development for South African first-year public administration students

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-174
Author(s):  
Gerda HG van Dijk ◽  
Brenda A Vivian ◽  
Lianne P Malan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
South African ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Academic Literacy ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
Epistemic Access

For higher education institutions to produce graduates capable of contributing to society and the economy in a productive manner, educational emphasis is placed on the development of critical thinking. The above necessitates that higher education institutions are able to engage in responsive curriculum design and delivery for enhanced student success and access. Public Administration programmes focus on equipping students to work within the broader government sector, able and capable of delivering public functions responsive to the needs of society. Literature suggests that there are a number of factors which influence the success ratio of any undergraduate programme in the South African context, including, inter alia, increased enrolments, student–staff ratios and the overall decline of professional and intellectual life in the country. Further complicating matters are classes too big to be participatory and crammed syllabi preventing in-depth discussions. The notion of embedding academic literacy development in curriculum design through a scaffolded approach aims to influence the academic performance of students through engaged and active learning in order to attain a higher level of achievement as well as benefit from the process of scaffolding. The research comprises a mixed method approach using a case study of the first-year students enrolled for a Public Administration degree. Data collected included an analysis of 2015, 2016 and 2017 student cohorts in: determining their academic literacy level upon registration (set as a baseline before any academic literacy intervention); tracking their academic performance through their formative and summative assessments (through a scaffolded approach); and reflecting upon their learning through their completion of a semi-structured survey. The research intends to argue that the use of a scaffolded approach to learning enhances epistemic access, which sees students moving beyond propositional, or foundation knowledge to epistemic or reflexive knowledge.

scholarly journals The Public Affairs Faculty Manual: A Guide to the Effective Management of Public Affairs Programs Edited by Bruce McDonald III and William Hatcher

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-296
Author(s):  
Michael Overton
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Academic Administrators ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Effective Management ◽  
The Public ◽  
Fundamental Knowledge ◽  
Broad Overview

In The Public Affairs Faculty Manual: A Guide to the Effective Management of Public Affairs Programs, editors Bruce McDonald III and William Hatcher, provide a broad overview on designing, leading, and managing a public affairs (PA) program. The edited volume is explicitly written for PA faculty in new leadership roles in higher education, though it is a useful reference for administrators of all levels and even useful for regular faculty. Despite excellent journals focused on PA education, such as Journal of Public Affairs Education, and Teaching Public Administration, there is a clear need for a focused cultivation of fundamental knowledge, research, and experience-informed advice for academic administrators in PA programs.

scholarly journals Subordination vs. agency/resistance in South Africa: Virgins bargaining their way through higher education

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 431-445
Author(s):  
Sunelle Stander
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Black Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Quality Education ◽  
Alternative Route ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Student Protests ◽  
African Context

Oppression manifests itself in various ways, such that intersections between different forms of oppression can be identified. This is also true for women living in South Africa, a country that has for years been plagued by many forms of oppression (racism, sexism, classism, etc.). Women are, amidst various forms of oppression, often left with few alternative options but to bargain with various forms of gender relations as a means to obtain basic human rights (like education). Recent student protests have highlighted the discriminating ways in which black students are kept from obtaining higher education. The so called “maidens bursary”, awarded to underprivileged girls who vow to stay virgins throughout their studies, will be used as a case study that examines an alternative route to which underprivileged women may resort in order to obtain a quality education. The notion of patriarchal bargaining will then be used to illumine the often unrecognized, complex and interwoven relationship between subordination and agency/resistance that operates within the South African context.

scholarly journals South African universities in a time of increasing disruption

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Coetzee ◽  
Brownhilder Neneh ◽  
Karlien Stemmet ◽  
Jana Lamprecht ◽  
Constance Motsitsi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
African Students ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
The Impact

Background: The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have disrupted the higher education environment in unprecedented ways.Aim: This article identifies the impact of increasing disruption driven by the 4IR and COVID-19 on the content and curriculum design of degree programmes in economic and management sciences offered by South African universities.Setting: Six South African and five top-tier US and UK universities.Methods: The study used a non-positivist qualitative research design and specifically the case-study approach. A document analysis of the information in university yearbooks and prospectuses was conducted, using a purposive sampling design.Results: An online presence will become more important due to increased disruption, and will not only ensure an additional revenue stream, but also promote continuity in operations and mitigate threats from competitors. COVID-19 has accelerated the extent of this disruption and expedited the migration to online teaching and learning platforms.Conclusion: Since science, technology, engineering and mathematics are integral to the majority of 4IR-related modules, South African universities must not shy away from degree programmes that ignore inter- and multi-disciplinary curriculum designs. Coupled with the challenges facing the majority of South African students to access electronic devices, data and the internet, COVID-19 has thrust this challenge to the forefront in the South African higher education landscape. By comparing the developments in South African universities with those in trendsetting, top-tier, global universities, management can assess the extent to which they are internationally competitive and adapting to the demands of the 4IR.

Villains and victors: representations of the fallists in newspapers during the 2015 university crisis

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 360-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumayya Ebrahim
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
The State ◽  
University Student ◽  
Student Protests ◽  
Critical Attention ◽  
Agents Of Change ◽  
Academic Year

In 2015, South African university student protests drew critical attention to the state of higher education in the country. Newspaper reports of the student protests were pervasive. Reports of the violence that characterised parts of the protests dominated the news despite the students’ impact on the positive changes in higher education. Using a thematic analysis, this article interrogates student representation in newspapers from the inception of the protests to the end of the 2015 academic year. Four themes were identified: students as destructive vandals, violators of the rights of others, law-breakers, and agents of transformation. Results indicate that newspaper reports of the violence overshadowed reports of the positive changes that the student protestors catalysed, and in so doing, newspaper reports during this time delegitimised the students as agents of change.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document