The national debate on community engagement in South African higher education: an interpretation

Magda Fourie

Vice-rector: Teaching

3 April 2008

Overview of presentation National policy framework Historical backdrop, in particular CHESP Community Engagement in Higher Education

Conference Critical issues identified What does this signify for Stellenbosch

University?

National policy framework White Paper on Higher Education (1997): identifies

community engagement as integral and core part of higher education in SA

Specific reference to the role community engagement can play in transforming higher education

HEIs should demonstrate social responsibility… and their commitment to the common good by making available expertise and infrastructure for community service programmes

National policy framework (cont) National Plan for Higher Education (2001):

enhancing of responsiveness to regional and national needs, for academic programmes, research and community service

National policy framework (cont) HEQC identified knowledge based community

service as one of the three areas (together with teaching and learning, and research) for quality assurance of higher education

Criteria for Institutional Audits include criteria on both service-learning and community engagement

Criteria for Programme Accreditation include minimum requirements for service-learning

Historical backdrop Examples of different forms of community

engagement activities at many HEIs: voluntarism, internships, experiential education, service-learning, community outreach, research and development projects for communities or industry

Not necessarily planned and co-ordinated

Historical backdrop (cont): JET Education Services:

- since 1997 active in research and development to advance CE

- survey of community service in SA HE in 1997/8 – two publications

- Community-Higher Education-Service Partnerships (CHESP) initiative launched in 1999

Historical backdrop (cont):CHESP: To support development of pilot programmes

that explore potential of CE as integral part of core academic functions of HEIs

To monitor and evaluate these programmes To use data generated to inform HE policy

and practice

Historical backdrop (cont): At national level several seminars, workshops,

capacity building sessions by CHESP, HEQC and DOE

Development of Good Practice Guide for Service-learning

Increasing international contacts and exposure At institutional level policy and strategy

development, resource allocation, integration into academic programmes through service-learning

Conference on Community Engagement in Higher Education Hosted by CHE/HEQC and JET/CHESP

in September 2006 Largest and most important conference on this topic

in SA More than 200 delegates Representatives from all public HEIs in SA and

numerous others Speakers included Minister of Education, Premier of

WC, vice-chancellors, and scholars from SA and abroad

Critical issues Conceptualisation Strategic considerations Planning and operational challenges Partnerships Building a scholarship of CE

Conceptualisation Examples: broad social frame of reference for

engagement through Mode 2 knowledge (Gibbons), engagement as form of scholarship (Fourie), engagement as mechanism to make university a knowledge-based instrument of social equity (De la Garza)

Conceptualisation (cont) National level (enabling framework)

- Setting broad parameters for CE- Place of community engagement in social development agenda

Institutional level (context-specific)- Establishing a relationship between CE and two other core functions- Possible models for community engagement

Strategic considerations National level:

- What additional policy, funding, monitoring and reporting levers are necessary to embed CE in HE?

- How to embed/reconcile CE with policy implementation already under way?

Strategic considerations (cont) Institutional level:

- Governance and leadership

- Institutional vision/mission

- Roles of different stakeholders

- Community voice

Planning and operational challenges

- Resource allocation

- Quality assurance and evaluation

- Performance management

- Staff incentives and development

- Risk management

- Organisation of research

- Student learning

Partnerships Shared vision Clarification of roles and expectations Power relations Reciprocity and mutual benefits Regional consortia

A scholarship of CE (theoretical work) What are the bodies of knowledge that could

inform CE? What are the new epistemologies for

establishing CE as a field of knowledge? What are the new pedagogies for teaching and

learning to give effect to CE? What are the new research methodologies

needed to give substance to CE?

What does this signify for Stellenbosch University? Have we clearly conceptualised community

interaction at SU? Who are our communities? What is our approach to community

interaction:- the silo model- the intersecting model- the infusion (cross-cutting) model ?

Is community interaction at SU about realising a Pedagogy of

Hope?

Thank you!