The differences between 23 public universities in South Africa – and the effects of such differentiation on teaching and learning – will be researched by the Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning (CHERTL) at Rhodes.
The differences between 23 public universities in South Africa – and the effects of such differentiation on teaching and learning – will be researched by the Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning (CHERTL) at Rhodes.
This follows a R700 000 award by the National Research Foundation (NRF) to the Centre.
“If higher education is to meet the needs of our country for social transformation and economic growth, then a differentiated system is essential," said project director, Professor Sioux McKenna. “Teaching and learning is often understood to be a neutral activity, where ‘good practice’ is transferable across contexts."
“But there is ample research that indicates that teaching practice emerges from the interplay of academics and students…This project looks at the way in which these practices emerge from the nature of the institution,” said McKenna.
The project will comprise seven PhD studies undertaken by individuals working in higher education, supervised by a team of eight, experienced academics from across the sector.
“Largely as a result of (the legacy of) Apartheid, there is an understandable concern that differentiation always results in inequality,” said McKenna.
The collaborative team approach to be used in the Institutional Differentiation project builds on a previous NRF funded project, in which eight PhD scholars investigated the issue of social inclusion in higher education.
”The lessons we learnt from that project have been central to the ways in which this new project has been conceptualised,” said Professor Chrissie Boughey, Dean of teaching and learning at Rhodes University and project director of the social inclusion project.
For more information contact: S.Mckenna@ru.ac.za
