The chartered accountant profession in South Africa: In dire need of decoloniality and ubuntu principles

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Terblanche ◽  
Yusef Waghid
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Social Awareness ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Leadership Positions

The chartered accountant (CA) profession plays a significant role in the South African business society, as individual members often fulfil leadership positions. Consequently, whether CAs are cultivated into being responsible and socially just leaders whilst they are at higher education institutions (HEIs) in South Africa is an important aspect to consider. Decoloniality and ubuntu principles, those associated with restoring human dignity through recognition, contribute to the fostering of the appropriate conditions for human engagement that could result in a social awareness. So far, the CA profession has largely ignored the call for decoloniality, and we argue for a certain response by the profession that will result in meaningful transformation of the profession, the fostering of relationships, and a socially just consciousness. In particular, such a response has to do with openness towards other knowledge systems, a willingness to deliberate and the adoption of deliberative teaching and learning approaches.

scholarly journals Learning Experiences of Students Who Are Hard of Hearing in Higher Education: Case Study of a South African University

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 137-148
Author(s):  
Diane Bell ◽  
Estelle Swart
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Hard Of Hearing ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Academic Experience ◽  
Body Of Knowledge

Students who are hard of hearing (HOH) are being granted access to university increasingly, yet they remain significantly under-represented and under-supported, often resulting in poor academic outcomes with elevated levels of attrition. This situation places a growing obligation on universities to improve the support provided to these students in order to have a positive influence on their overall academic experience and eventual economic independence. This trend is relevant to South Africa, where Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are accepting and registering students with a hearing loss but are not providing adequate academic support and inclusive curricula. Furthermore, in South Africa, almost no research has been conducted concerning students who are HOH in higher education regarding their teaching and learning needs or the coping strategies which they use to survive academically. However, what is known is that, of those HOH students who do enter higher education, many do not graduate successfully (up to 75%) and, of those that do graduate, many continue to be excluded from professions. The aims of this article were to report on the teaching and learning experiences of students who are HOH at a South African university, who prefer to make use of spoken language, to share the daily barriers with which they are faced, and to provide recommendations for teaching and learning, as well as curricula transformation. This study adds to the existing body of knowledge on this topic in South Africa and could be relevant in similar contexts.

scholarly journals A socially just pedagogy in the use of mobile devices in higher education? The case of Humanities first-year students at a South African university

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Carina Van Rooyen ◽  
Ingrid Estha Marais
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
South African ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Humanities Students

In a highly unequal society such as South Africa, higher education is seen as having a social justice mandate to widen participation, and using technology is one way to achieve this. One university in South Africa made mobile devices compulsory for all first-year students since 2014. This article, drawing on data collected from first-year Humanities students at this university, attempts to understand whether the use of mobile devices for learning met requirements for a socially just pedagogy. We used a sequential mixed methods research design, first surveying the first-year Humanities students in late 2015, and then followed up with focus group discussions in 2016 and early 2017. We utilise Nancy Fraser’s idea of ‘participatory parity’ to unpack a socially just pedagogy, and specifically focus on the component of access to resources. We found that most students had functional access to devices and on-campus data. The manner in which these were accessed was affirmative, rather than transformative. By extending the notion of access beyond just opportunity (functional access as owning or having access to a device and data), to also knowing how to use the opportunity (digital access through digital literacies and fluencies), we found that our case study fell short of being socially just pedagogy. We urge that lecturers take up a central role in enabling students to use their devices for transformative learning.   How to cite this article:VAN ROOYEN, Carina; MARAIS, Ingrid Estha. A socially just pedagogy in the use of mobile devices in higher education? The case of Humanities first-year students at a South African university. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the South v. 2, n. 2, p. 53-70, Sept. 2018. Available at: http://sotl-south-journal.net/?journal=sotls&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=66   This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

scholarly journals MANAGING INFORMATION FOR WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING AT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Mousaion ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 13-28
Author(s):  
Roelien Brink ◽  
Martie Mearns ◽  
Tanya Du Plessis
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Information Management ◽  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Integrated Learning ◽  
Phenomenological Research Design ◽  
Work Integrated Learning

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in South Africa require teaching and learning to include work-integrated learning (WIL) within specific learning offerings. The different learning options provided by various faculties have unique and diverse procedures which justify different WIL approaches at HEIs. A lack of structure regarding the information management (IM) for WIL across departments results in different processes being followed, which can impact negatively on the optimal utilisation of WIL. Frameworks for IM for WIL, however, have been developed at international HEIs. Using a qualitative approach and phenomenological research design and working with these frameworks as well as the Theory of Motivated Information Management, the researchers collected data using semi-structured individual interviews and group discussions from the University of Cincinnati (UC) and the Northwestern University (NWU) in Illinois, United States (US). This article presents the findings of an IM framework from these two US universities. After research was conducted at a South African university, a conceptual framework was developed for the IM for WIL based on the framework from the international universities that may be implemented at HEIs in South Africa. With time this framework could betested in a number of settings that could lead to the development of a model for IM for WIL in the South African context. The article, however, reports on the findings of the two international universities only and the conceptual framework requires further testing and validation before it can be published.

scholarly journals Higher education leadership responses applied in two South African comprehensive universities during the COVID-19 pandemic: A critical discourse analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamvalethu Kele ◽  
Pedro Mzileni
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
South African ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Comprehensive Universities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Justice Theory

Background: This article explored the leadership responses that were used by two comprehensive universities in South Africa (Nelson Mandela University and University of Johannesburg) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in continuing with the rolling out of their teaching and learning programmes safely and digitally under disruptive conditions.Aim: Whilst universities in the developing world such as South Africa were expected to face challenges during the pandemic, this article showed that the leadership executives and general staff in two of its large universities, instead, crafted equitable and flexible improvisations to overcome the social challenges that could have posed a threat to their academic project.Setting: The selection of these two specific universities provided a unique opportunity to engage with comprehensive, massified and post-merger former Technikon-university institutions that mainly cater for working-class students.Methods: The social justice theory was utilised to frame the study, whilst critical narrative analysis was the methodology.Results: This research reveals that South African comprehensive universities possess capacity to adapt and innovate in the middle of an institutional crisis using their flexible systems and agile personnel to drive the academy under such circumstances. The study also reveals that the process of social justice is full of contradictions. As the universities created equitable measures to assist underprivileged students, these measures also generated injustices for others.Conclusion: This generated admirable and productive systematic traits to observe about some of our universities, as the South African higher education sector continued to engage with difficult conversations such as transformation.

scholarly journals Intersection of Ubuntu pedagogy and social justice: Transforming South African higher education

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nomalungelo I. Ngubane ◽  
Manyane J. Makua
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
Philosophical Framework ◽  
Social Justice Theory ◽  
South African Higher Education

Background: Universities, globally, and in South Africa, continue to be confronted with demands for transformation, humanisation of pedagogical practices and to embrace social justice.Aim: In this article, we bring to the surface possibilities of Ubuntu pedagogy within a social justice framework. We intersect Collective Fingers Theory and Social Justice Theory to propose the notion of Ubuntu pedagogy, which draws from African philosophy of Ubuntu. We argue that Ubuntu pedagogy provides an alternation to the current pedagogies that draw from European theories for teaching and learning in the South African higher education context. We put forward that, Ubuntu pedagogy, when embraced with understanding and dignity it deserves, has the potential, firstly, of initiating students from other cultures other than African cultures to the values of Ubuntu and, secondly, of reconnecting students with their values and cultures, but it has a capacity to cultivate social justice values of equity, recognition and fair participation amongst students from diverse social backgrounds.Setting: South African Higher Education.Methodology: The authors draw from literature to position the article within Ubuntu philosophical framework and social justice lenses. Themes emerging from literature are as follows: Intersection of Ubuntu philosophy and social justice, Ubuntu pedagogy and transformation in higher education and guiding principles for possible implementation of Ubuntu pedagogy.Results: At the intersection of Ubuntu pedagogy and social justice, classroom practices are designed to respond to students’ cultural competencies and to embrace all linguistic repertoires that students bring to the classroom for learning. Students are treated equally and with dignity and respect regardless of their social backgrounds.Conclusion: We argue that higher education classrooms in post-apartheid South Africa should enable equal access, equity and inclusivity for all students. We therefore recommend Ubuntu pedagogy as a culturally and socially just pedagogy for transformative higher education classrooms. This article contributes to the continuing dialogues about transformative pedagogies, decolonisation and social justice in South African higher education.

scholarly journals Decolonisation of higher education: Dismantling epistemic violence and Eurocentrism in South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Savo Heleta
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Epistemic Violence ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The University

Since the end of the oppressive and racist apartheid system in 1994, epistemologies and knowledge systems at most South African universities have not considerably changed; they remain rooted in colonial, apartheid and Western worldviews and epistemological traditions. The curriculum remains largely Eurocentric and continues to reinforce white and Western dominance and privilege. This article traces the roots of Eurocentrism and epistemic violence at universities. The author argues that South Africa must tackle and dismantle the epistemic violence and hegemony of Eurocentrism, completely rethink, reframe and reconstruct the curriculum and place South Africa, Southern Africa and Africa at the centre of teaching, learning and research. However, this will not be easy as opposition to change is entrenched in the university structures. The movement to radically transform and decolonise higher education must find ways to hold institutions accountable and maintain the non-violent and intellectual struggle until epistemic violence and Eurocentrism are dismantled.

scholarly journals Understanding Higher Education: Alternative Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Global Order ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Higher Education Policies ◽  
Social Account ◽  
The University

Drawing on the South African case, this book looks at shifts in higher education around the world in the last two decades. In South Africa, calls for transformation have been heard in the university since the last days of apartheid. Similar claims for quality higher education to be made available to all have been made across the African continent. In spite of this, inequalities remain and many would argue that these have been exacerbated during the Covid pandemic. Understanding Higher Education: Alternative Perspectives responds to these calls by arguing for a social account of teaching and learning by contesting dominant understandings of students as ‘decontextualised learners’ premised on the idea that the university is a meritocracy. This book tackles the issue of teaching and learning by looking both within and beyond the classroom. It looks at how higher education policies emerged from the notion of the knowledge economy in the newly democratic South Africa, and how national qualification frameworks and other processes brought the country more closely into conversation with the global order. The effects of this on staffing and curriculum structures are considered alongside a proposition for alternative ways of understanding the role of higher education in society.

scholarly journals Pandemic Pedagogy: Assessing the Online Implementation of a Decolonial Curriculum

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon Morreira
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Student Protests ◽  
Online Implementation ◽  
South African Higher Education

The student protests in South Africa (2015–2017) triggered shifts in pedagogical practices, such that by 2020 many South African higher education institutions had begun to make some concrete moves towards more socially just pedagogies within teaching and learning (Quinn, 2019; Jansen, 2019). In March 2020, however, South Africa went into lockdown as a result of Covid-19, and all higher education teaching became remote and non-synchronous. This paper reports on the effects of the move to remote teaching on the implementation of a new decolonial ‘emplaced’ pedagogy at one South African university. The idea of emplacement draws on the careful incorporation of social space as a teaching tool within the social sciences, such that students can situate themselves as reflexive, embodied persons within concrete spaces and communities which carry particular social, economic and political histories. This paper draws on data from course evaluations and student assignments, as well as a description of course design, to argue that many of the benefits of careful emplacement in historical and contemporary context can happen even where students are never in the same physical spaces as one another or their lecturers.  This relies, however, on students’ having access to both the necessary technology and to an environment conducive to learning.

A CUSTOMISED FRAMEWORK FOR EFFECTIVE PODCAST INTEGRATION IN A SOUTH AFRICAN HIGHER EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-32
Author(s):  
Shane Pachagadu ◽  
Liezel Nel
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning Environment ◽  
Education Environment ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
South African Higher Education ◽  
Effective Integration

Numerous studies have explored the potential of podcast integration in teaching and learning environments. This paper first presents and organises perspectives from literature in a conceptual framework for the effective integration of podcasting in higher education. An empirical study is then discussed in which the guidelines presented in the framework were evaluated for applicability in a selected course at a South African University of Technology. Since the results of the study revealed a number of aspects not accounted for in the conceptual framework, the framework was customised to make it more applicable for the particular higher education environment. The customised framework identifies four principles and a series of related guidelines for the effective integration of podcasts in a South African higher education teaching and learning environment. This framework can become a valuable resource for effective podcast integration in similar environments.

Challenges Posed by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for South African Higher Education Institutions

10.28945/2679 ◽  
2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
ME Herselman ◽  
HR Hay
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Revolutionary Change ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Teaching Learning

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are the major driving forces of globalised and knowledge-based societies of a new world era. They will have a profound impact on teaching and learning for two decades to come. The revolutionary change which is taking place in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), has dramatic effects on the way universities carry out their functions of teaching, learning and research, particularly on the creation, dissemination and application of knowledge. These developments pose unprecedented challenges to higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing countries particular in South Africa as South Africa is viewed as the leading country on the continent.

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