Curriculum adjustment and adaptive leadership in two service-learning courses at Rhodes University as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Authors: Khuhlane, Heide Nozuko
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease) , Curriculum planning South Africa Makhanda , Rhodes University , Service learning South Africa Makhanda , Educational leadership South Africa Makhanda , Educational change South Africa Makhanda , Adaptive leadership
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191192 , vital:45069
- Description: The COVID-19 global pandemic altered many aspects of learning. Learning through service, a component of community engagement in higher education linking academic learning and the community was no exception. Informed by Experiential Learning Theory, this study investigated the curriculum adjustment of two service-learning courses at Rhodes University and the leadership development of those who lead the courses as a consequence of COVID-19. The study’s initial goal was to highlight the position of service-learning as a component of academic learning. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic the goal was extended to understanding the impact of the pandemic not only on service-learning, but on leadership as well. Furthermore, the study sought to determine the responsiveness of service-learning policies at Rhodes University at a time of crisis. The study was designed as an interpretivist case study with four participants and one secondary participant. The study employed document analysis, individual interviews and a focus group interview to collect data. Data analysis took the form of content analysis and coding, through the lens of Experiential Learning Theory and an alternative service-based model. The study findings revealed that as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic both service-learning courses had to be adapted to ensure successful completion. The adaptations included attention to scaffolded learning, assessment and course outcomes; in one course the service engagement aspect with the community was lost entirely to ensure the saftey of students through adherence to COVID-19 safety regulations. The study also found that the participants developed adaptive leadership competencies and skills, technological and collaboration skills as well as a heightened regard for pastoral care and social justice. However, it was evident that the pandemic revealed gaps in the conceptual understanding of service-learning in the context of the two courses, a need for responsive policy, and practical strategies to implement those policies in smaller units in the institution. The study thus recommends an alternative service-based model approach to service-learning, increased policy responsiveness to issues posed by the ‘new normal’ to support adaptive leadership development, re-defining of the university-community partnership and the identification of opportunities for innovation and collaboration intra-departmentally through service-learning. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, Education, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Khuhlane, Heide Nozuko
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease) , Curriculum planning South Africa Makhanda , Rhodes University , Service learning South Africa Makhanda , Educational leadership South Africa Makhanda , Educational change South Africa Makhanda , Adaptive leadership
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191192 , vital:45069
- Description: The COVID-19 global pandemic altered many aspects of learning. Learning through service, a component of community engagement in higher education linking academic learning and the community was no exception. Informed by Experiential Learning Theory, this study investigated the curriculum adjustment of two service-learning courses at Rhodes University and the leadership development of those who lead the courses as a consequence of COVID-19. The study’s initial goal was to highlight the position of service-learning as a component of academic learning. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic the goal was extended to understanding the impact of the pandemic not only on service-learning, but on leadership as well. Furthermore, the study sought to determine the responsiveness of service-learning policies at Rhodes University at a time of crisis. The study was designed as an interpretivist case study with four participants and one secondary participant. The study employed document analysis, individual interviews and a focus group interview to collect data. Data analysis took the form of content analysis and coding, through the lens of Experiential Learning Theory and an alternative service-based model. The study findings revealed that as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic both service-learning courses had to be adapted to ensure successful completion. The adaptations included attention to scaffolded learning, assessment and course outcomes; in one course the service engagement aspect with the community was lost entirely to ensure the saftey of students through adherence to COVID-19 safety regulations. The study also found that the participants developed adaptive leadership competencies and skills, technological and collaboration skills as well as a heightened regard for pastoral care and social justice. However, it was evident that the pandemic revealed gaps in the conceptual understanding of service-learning in the context of the two courses, a need for responsive policy, and practical strategies to implement those policies in smaller units in the institution. The study thus recommends an alternative service-based model approach to service-learning, increased policy responsiveness to issues posed by the ‘new normal’ to support adaptive leadership development, re-defining of the university-community partnership and the identification of opportunities for innovation and collaboration intra-departmentally through service-learning. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, Education, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
What are the pertinent intersections in the lives of black women at Rhodes University?
- Authors: Gushman, Lutho Phinda
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Women, Black South Africa Makhanda , Student movements South Africa Makhanda , Intersectionality (Sociology) , Pluralism , Matrix organization South Africa Makhanda , Women, Black Education (Higher) South Africa Makhanda , Social action South Africa Makhanda , Rhodes University
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190990 , vital:45047
- Description: After the 2016 #FeesMustFall protest(s), higher education institutions were dramatically altered with respect to their institutional cultures; the narratives of those who were historically side-lined and marginalised took centre stage. At Rhodes University social activism was constitutive of three components; a ‘revolt’ against the fee increment; a contestation of the rape culture; and a rejection of the colonial curriculum. These concerns, in their varied articulations, made up different social and academic realities that define(d) Rhodes University and affected how individuals experienced institutional culture. According to Ndlovu (2017) while these expressed acts (in the form of protests and institutional shutdowns) of resistance against the system of higher education subsided after the fees must fall campaign, these served to centre the narratives of the marginalised. Keeping with this thinking, the argument presented in this thesis explores the experiences of black women in higher education after the call towards coordinated resistance. Using qualitative data in the form of narrative interviews, the thesis documents how the participants continued their academic and social life post-resistance. This rupture of resistance created a complex matrix of individual subjectivity where participants engaged with traditional social academic norms in new spaces of resistance; a phenomenon that enlivened the intersectionality that came to define the higher education landscape of the country. This thesis explores the stories of the participant’s as they engage(d) with what is becoming a new institution—that is the University in South Africa, with a case-in-point being Rhodes University—and to understand the power relations and intersections that define their lived experiences. This study found that the reality of existing within the confines of power—with its fluidity—meant that black women operate both within spaces of privilege and oppression simultaneously. As such, and following Vivian May’s (2015) argument, this study concludes that black women are situated and simultaneously constrained by power. Thus spaces of resistance are constantly in flux and determined by their relations within power. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Politics and International Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Gushman, Lutho Phinda
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Women, Black South Africa Makhanda , Student movements South Africa Makhanda , Intersectionality (Sociology) , Pluralism , Matrix organization South Africa Makhanda , Women, Black Education (Higher) South Africa Makhanda , Social action South Africa Makhanda , Rhodes University
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190990 , vital:45047
- Description: After the 2016 #FeesMustFall protest(s), higher education institutions were dramatically altered with respect to their institutional cultures; the narratives of those who were historically side-lined and marginalised took centre stage. At Rhodes University social activism was constitutive of three components; a ‘revolt’ against the fee increment; a contestation of the rape culture; and a rejection of the colonial curriculum. These concerns, in their varied articulations, made up different social and academic realities that define(d) Rhodes University and affected how individuals experienced institutional culture. According to Ndlovu (2017) while these expressed acts (in the form of protests and institutional shutdowns) of resistance against the system of higher education subsided after the fees must fall campaign, these served to centre the narratives of the marginalised. Keeping with this thinking, the argument presented in this thesis explores the experiences of black women in higher education after the call towards coordinated resistance. Using qualitative data in the form of narrative interviews, the thesis documents how the participants continued their academic and social life post-resistance. This rupture of resistance created a complex matrix of individual subjectivity where participants engaged with traditional social academic norms in new spaces of resistance; a phenomenon that enlivened the intersectionality that came to define the higher education landscape of the country. This thesis explores the stories of the participant’s as they engage(d) with what is becoming a new institution—that is the University in South Africa, with a case-in-point being Rhodes University—and to understand the power relations and intersections that define their lived experiences. This study found that the reality of existing within the confines of power—with its fluidity—meant that black women operate both within spaces of privilege and oppression simultaneously. As such, and following Vivian May’s (2015) argument, this study concludes that black women are situated and simultaneously constrained by power. Thus spaces of resistance are constantly in flux and determined by their relations within power. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Politics and International Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- «
- ‹
- 1
- ›
- »