KovsieJournals - University of the Free State (UFS)
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The loss of environmental knowledge: digital platforms and indigenous games in southern Africa
Full text linkEnvironmental knowledge is an area of epistemology in which the elderly population, particularly in rural areas, are recognised as integral transmitters. One of the traditional ways in which this knowledge is imparted to the younger generations is through the use of entertainment such as indigenous games (Bogopa 2012: 246). Indigenous games are not merely a socialisation tool; instead, they are often used to facilitate the transmission of values and norms directed towards the preservation and conservation of nature. Despite their significance, there continues to be a lack of recognition of these alternative mediums and indigenous knowledge holders. Using critical theory rooted in a decolonial position, I aim to critically analyse indigenous games in the growing digital landscape by considering the intersectional consequences of dismissing the ecological episteme gained from indigenous games as well as considering how this affects epistemic hubs such as the elderly population – particularly ooMakhulu (elderly women). I will argue that the failure to integrate indigenous games on to digital platforms poses further risks on multiple axes, which include the extinction of the elderly’s roles in the younger generation’s lives, the loss of important cultural and heritage values, and the obliteration of indigenous environmental teachings
Consumers’ perspectives on multiracial advertising in a South African context
Full text linkIn March 2022, the South African Human Rights Commission opened an inquiry following official complaints sparked by the publication of racially insensitive advertisements. Despite this, advertising agencies appear to publish material that does not represent an all-inclusive approach, which considers consumers’ perspectives and perceptions of multiracial advertisements. This study suggests guidelines for formulating multiracial advertisements to enable advertising agencies to elicit the desired responses from consumers. A qualitative methodology with a cross-sectional descriptive design was adopted. Data was collected through a social media search for related posts. The study purposively sampled cases of brand advertisements (n=3) that South African consumers perceived as racially offensive, namely Dove, Clicks/TRESemmé, and BMW. A convenience sample was also employed to collect comments per advertisement (n=20). An inductive approach to thematic content analysis was utilised to code consumers’ responses on social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, and YouTube). The findings indicate that race remains a sensitive topic among South African consumers. Thus, marketing communication practitioners need to be mindful of the racial connotations that the content in their advertising material might carry
Navigating pedagogic possibilities in the context of forced displacement: A Bernsteinian Analysis
Full text linkAdopting the document study methodology and using Bernstein’s theory of pedagogy as an analytical framework, the study investigated policy responses to education provision in displacement contexts, the pedagogic models generated from such policies, and the implications for promoting learning. The findings revealed that providing education in displacement contexts involves navigating tensions between the contextual appropriateness of pedagogic models, their inherent power and structural consequences, and the ethical and political trade-offs involved in using such models. The study recommends mixed/eclectic pedagogies founded on mixed pedagogic structures.
Exploring classroom interpersonal communication skills of English second language teachers in Nigeria
Full text linkThe teacher-student relationship is an aspect of classroom interaction that could be developed through interpersonal communication among classroom participants. Fostering such a relationship is the function of a positive and collaborative environment marked with mutual respect, understanding, and friendliness that motivates students’ learning. This paper examined the influence of the interpersonal aspect of teacher-talk on teacherstudent relationships and student verbal participation in classroom interactions in Ekiti State in Nigeria. The study employed a mixedmethods approach, involving both quantitative and qualitative analyses of eight recorded lessons. The findings revealed that all the categories of teacher-talk identified in the study could be used to facilitate effective classroom interpersonal relationships among teacher and learner participants. The interpersonal aspect of teacher-talk only allowed for limited interpersonal relationships between them and the students because the interaction was teacher-biased. It is recommended that teachers be encouraged and trained to understand their roles in addition to imparting academic knowledge, as facilitators in a stress-free learning environment where students can feel a sense of belonging and develop good interpersonal skills, as well as achieve academic success. Fostering a sense of shared relationships in classroom interactions requires considering students’ personalities, individual variability, freedom of expression, and personal development
Reflecting on the Diagnostic Mathematics Information for Student Retention and Success (DMISRS) journey: Key insights into negotiating large-scale collaborative projects
Full text linkStudent retention and success in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programmes is particularly poor and important, given the worldwide shortage of these skills. Educational research has advanced our knowledge of effective teaching and learning in undergraduate STEM programmes, leading to innovations to improve the prevailing situation. However, translating these innovations into tangible pedagogical reforms has proven challenging, and many efforts designed to promote change have fallen short of their intended outcomes. Mathematics is often the subject that becomes a barrier to success. While mathematics educators may try to address these issues, they have few opportunities to work collaboratively and to share their experiences in a safe and supportive environment. The Diagnostic Mathematics Information for Student Retention and Success (DMISRS) project’s initial aim was based on a theory of change. A theory of change builds upon the assumption that change is a complex process influenced by multiple internal and external factors to the system under examination and needs to be constantly reviewed. During the project, it became evident that the initial theory of change, while laudable, was not the most appropriate in the given context. The team then adjusted the project to work collaboratively with and through mathematics colleagues at their institutions. In this paper, we reflect on the organic nature of the shaping and reshaping of the DMISRS project. We then review how the project team had to respond to the challenges and navigate the disruptions faced actively. We share our experiences and lessons learnt, which will be relevant to other similar large-scale collaborative projects
Incompleteness as epistemic freedom: rethinking gangsterism in Cape Town
Full text linkThis article offers a decolonial critique of knowledge production by bringing postcolonial philosophy into dialogue with the life histories of gangsters from the Cape Flats, South Africa. In particular, I highlight the disruptive potential of Francis Nyamnjoh’s ethic of incompleteness as both a methodological and epistemological approach to postcolonial social phenomena. Applying this lens, I argue that it unsettles moralised and legalistic understandings of the gangster, dissolving rigid categorisations and instead revealing gangster identity as fundamentally incomplete. The gangster figure, in turn, resists fixed classification and is continuously reconstructing itself anew at the intersection of global and local forces, traditional and modern influences, economic and historical trajectories, and racial dynamics. Through this analysis, I advocate for epistemological decolonisation in pursuit of ‘convivial scholarship’
Reconsidering our legal reasoning, legal culture and vision of law: 20 years after Froneman
Full text linkThis paper reflects on whether and to what extent we have made progress in transforming our formal vision of law to a constitutional vision of law, particularly in the application and interpretation of private law. What was needed for this transformation was a more substantive reasoning that acknowledges the unavoidable connection between law and politics. Following the adoption of the Constitution, different academics identified a disconnect between the legal culture and the transformative aspirations of the Constitution and questioned whether we were equipped to meet the necessary demands. The judgment in the matter between Changing Tides 74 (Pty) Ltd and the Municipality of Johannesburg is considered in this paper to indicate our prevailing formal vision of law, legal culture and legal reasoning
"What remains? The language [culture] remains"
Full text linkAs scholars who have struggled with the question of the relationship between transformation and law for most of our work-lives, we remain interested in and often perplexed by the ways in which legal scholars, the media and members of the public at large continue to talk about and comment on matters concerning law, constitution and change as if they are isolated or demarcated from each other. In this vein we were intrigued by the specific way in which the title of and the call for papers of a recent conference, held at the University of the Free State, was formulated: ‘Transformative constitutionalism and private law’. In our paper delivered at this conference, we spoke about what this specific formulation elicited in our minds. This article is a reworked and expanded version of that paper
How negotiated peace in underdeveloped countries results in structural violence: Healing memories in South Africa
Full text linkThis article focuses on the South African massacres that took place between 1960 and 1994 to stimulate a global mentality about what led to peace in South Africa. It discusses the role of the superpower in peacebuilding in South Africa. In 1986, four cardinal points led to negotiations and the release of political prisoners. The article also discusses the peace negotiation that occurred prior to the April 1994 election. It also addresses the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as a vehicle for healing memories. The thesis is that peacebuilding ought to be holistic, in order to avoid structural violence. The proposal for a solution to South Africa’s structural violence is the establishment of a universal income grant for the middle class and the poor, in order to curb poverty, unemployment, and inequality. The article uses political theology as its framework, based on restorative justice
New frontiers in contemporary missiology: Southern African perspectives
Full text linkThe book "New frontiers in contemporary missiology: Southern African perspectives" by Mbaya, H. (Ed.), (UJ Press, 2024), pp. 128, ISBN 978-1-7764896-3-3 is reviewed.