The Hopeful Pedagogies blog was started in order to capture all the information generated at a colloquium held at Stellenbosch University, Western Cape, South Africa, on 19 November 2010. More information about the purpose of the colloquium and the programme is provided below. Now that the colloquium is over, the blog is intended as: a repository for useful information about teaching for the public good, especially in the South African context, and as a channel for dialogue and debate about issues such as the “public good”, “hope”, the curriculum and teaching in higher education. All students, academics or theorists who are interested to contribute articles, opinion pieces, suggestions or resources should contribute directly onto the blog, or write to me directly at: bleibowitz@sun.ac.za. (Brenda Leibowitz)
Agtergrond
(English follows)
Die doel van hoër onderwys is om die ekonomiese en tegnologiese ontwikkeling van die samelewing, en terselfdertyd demokrasie en burgerskap, te bevorder. Die Universiteit Stellenbosch (US) dra in vele opsigte, onder meer deur navorsing en gemeenskapsinteraksie sowel as direkte onderrig, tot openbare welsyn by. Die soort gegradueerdes wat die US graag wil oplewer, word omskryf in die Witskrif op Hoër Onderwys (1997), profiel van die gegradueerde van die Universiteit Stellenbosch en in verskeie beroepsraadbeskrywings. Die bepaalde eienskappe van die soort gegradueerde wat tot sosiale welsyn, soos die verwesenliking van die Millenniumontwikkelingsdoelwitte, kan bydra, kom aan bod in die Ontwikkelingsdiskoerse-navorsingsprojek, waaraan die US in 2009 deelgeneem het. Daarbenewens is ʼn seminaar in Augustus 2009 gehou waarin voorbeelde van goeie praktyk vir US-studenteonderrig vir openbare welsyn geneem is. In die lig van bogenoemde, die hersiening van akademiese programme aan die hand van die Hoëronderwyskwalifikasieraamwerk (HOKR), en die huidige klem op ‘hoop’ aan die US, sal ʼn dag lange colloquium gehou word ten einde die volgende te oordink:
Die soort eienskappe waarmee die Universiteit se programme gegradueerdes kan toerus (die sogenaamde “graduate attributes”)
- Voorbeelde van goeie praktyk om, in die kurrikulum, sodanige ideale eienskappe vir maatskaplike welsyn by gegradueerdes te vestig
- Die soort akademikus wat die regte tipe onderrig vir dié ideale eienskappe in die kurrikulum kan vaslê
- Die institusionele reëlings vir florerende akademici en studente wat tot openbare welsyn kan bydra
Bydraes by die colloquium sal op ʼn paar moontlike maniere aangewend word: as hulpbronne vir onderrig en leer op die webtuiste van die Sentrum vir Onderrig en Leer (SOL); as bydraes tot ʼn boek oor onderrig vir openbare welsyn, of as riglyne vir die hersiening van die US se beleid oor onderrig en leer.
Bevestig asseblief u bywoning by Natasha Alberts by nvdb@sun.ac.za teen Woensdag 10 November 2010 om spyseniering en ander reëlings te vergemaklik.
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Background
The purpose of higher education is to contribute towards the economic and technological development of society, and at the same time, to contribute towards democracy and citizenship. Stellenbosch University sees itself as contributing to the public good in many ways, including via its research and community interaction, as well as via its direct teaching. The kinds of graduates we wish to produce are described in the Education White Paper (1997), the profile of the Stellenbosch University graduate, and in various professional board descriptions. The specific aspects of the kind of graduate that could contribute towards the social good, for example in relation to the Millenium Development Goals, are given consideration in the Development Discourses research project in which Stellenbosch University participated in 2009. A seminar to consider examples of good practice for teaching SU students in relation to the public good was held in August 2009. In the light of the above, the reworking of academic programmes in response to the Higher Education Qualifications Framework alignment process and the current spotlight on “hope” at Stellenbosch University, a one day colloquium will be held in order to consider the following:
- the kind of graduate attributes the University’s programmes may be aiming towards;
- examples of good practice with regard to realizing graduate attributes for the social good in the curriculum;
- the kind of academic who is able to embed the teaching for these attributes in the curriculum;
- the institutional arrangements which would support the flourishing of academics and students for the public good.
Contributions at the colloquium will be used in several possible ways: as resources for teaching and learning on a CTL website; as submissions for a book on teaching for the public good; as pointers towards the revision of the SU Teaching and Learning Policy.
To facilitate catering and the organisation of the day, please RSVP to Natasha Alberts at nvdb@sun.ac.za by Wednesday 10 November 2010.