KovsieJournals - University of the Free State (UFS)
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Connection, desperation and disillusionment: Exploring student wellbeing at a university in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic
Get PDFUniversity students’ mental health and wellbeing has been a global public health issue of increasing concern in recent years, with a growing body of empirical evidence suggesting university students are a ‘very high-risk population’ for mental disorders and psychological distress. Pre-existing mental health challenges among university students have consequently been compounded by the global COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of 20 students registered in the education faculty at a large urban university in South Africa participated in a Photovoice study. The research required them to capture three photos or images of their experiences of wellbeing during the pandemic. The findings showed that studentsexperienced mental health concerns and disillusionment with higher education. Their wellbeing was associated with a sense of connection with themselves, their peers and the campus space, and the cultivation of resilience
Flexible work arrangements and gender differences in research during the COVID-19 period in Zimbabwean higher learning institutions
Get PDFThis study sought to investigate the impact of COVID-19-induced flexible work arrangements (FWAs) on gender differences in research outputs during COVID-19. A mixed research methodology was used, focusing on higher learning institutions in Zimbabwe. Purposive sampling was applied to select 250 researchers from the 21 registered universities in Zimbabwe. The study’s findings revealed that institutions of higher learning in Zimbabwe did not provide the necessary affordances to enable both male and female academics to work from home effectively. The study also established that FWAs were preferred and appreciated by both male and female academics. However, whilst both male and female academics performed their teaching responsibilities without incident, unlike males, females struggled to find time for research, thus affecting professional growth and development negatively for female academics. Cultural traditions were found to subordinate females to domestic and caregiving responsibilities unrelated to their professions. The findings raise questions on the feasibility of the much-recommended FWAs for future work on female academics’ research careers. Thus, without the necessary systems and processes to support female researchers, FWAs can only widen the gender gap in research outputs. This study contributes to the Zimbabwean higher learning institutions’ perspective on how FWAs’ policies and practices could be re-configured to assist female researchers in enhancing their research outputs as well as their career growth
Flexible curriculum design for quantitative skills development: Building on the insights gained during COVID-19
Get PDFBefore the COVID-19 pandemic, technology-enhanced learning and its relation to student engagement, and the necessity of good student-staff relationships for creating a successful education environment were evident. The COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education to adapt to a challenging technology-led learning environment that demanded, inter alia, high levels of flexibility and human-centredness. Valuable lessons were learned that highlighted new perspectives on curriculum design and delivery in a normalised, technology-driven environment. Against the background of COVID-19-related literature on teaching andlearning, the authors reflect on their insights regarding curriculum design and delivery of two quantitative skills modules during the COVID-19 pandemic, and its impact on further curriculum planning. The focus of the article is on the intentional flexibility built into curriculum offerings during 2020-2022. The study reviewed flexibility on three levels, namely student, facilitator (staff) and delivery levels, through a multi-method research methodology.Quantitative data related to the academic performance of 2 949 students enrolled for the two quantitative skills modules from 2020 to 2022. Qualitative data related to themes through thematic analysis of student and facilitator surveys, focusgroup discussions and semi-structured interviews. The improved student academic performance reported by the study could be attributed to, amongst other factors, 1) flexibility of the selected delivery option, 2) positive staff and student experiences and engagement, and 3) intentional inclusion of activities promoting student-staff relationships. The good academic results obtained during the pandemic led to important curriculum decisions for a normalised future for thesemodules, which will be built on flexibility and human-centredness. Among these decisions is to continue presenting the modules in an online environment, even though traditional face-to-face teaching options are available
Urban pressure on the Rietvlei Nature Reserve in Tshwane, South Africa: An application of the Greenspace Stress Model of Urban Impact
Get PDFDespite the ecosystem services potentially provided by urban green spaces, there are concerns about the sustainability thereof. Therefore, the nexus between development, conservation, and sense of place was explored from a geographical perspective. A Greenspace Stress Model of Urban Impact was developed through a case study of the Rietvlei Nature Reserve in Tshwane, Gauteng province, South Africa. The position of an urban green space within two rapidly expanding cities was evaluated through a case study. Methods included a literature study, an analysis of land-use changes on remote sensing images, face-to-face interviews, and focus group interviews. Findings from this research include that urban growth leads to increasing human needs and expectations regarding the ecological services provided by green spaces. Stressors within the reserve include the water quality, the presence of invasive species, development pressures intensified by the location relative to spatial development corridors and administrative boundaries, and insufficient environmental awareness. Successful local strategies support the idea that green space should be fit for purpose and meet the expectations justifying its existence. Global environmental concerns should be considered in urban planning frameworks and in management of local spaces that people know and care about. The physical characteristics and functions of an urban green space as well as the environmental perception and sense-of-place evaluations of different stakeholders are important in decision-making about, and sustainability of ecosystem services
From the guest editors
Get PDFHuman settlements are so much more than houses, public open spaces, infrastructure, municipal services, residents, as well as formal and informal settlements. It is indeed a dynamic complex organism or system with many sub-systems, constantly changing for better or for worse. Many of the lessons and experiences of the developed world are of a universal nature, while others are unique to the context of the developing and future developing world. It can also be argued that, historically, human settlements reflect an evolutionary phenomenon, and thus, while influencing the form and character of urban and rural fabric, they are equally impacted on by multi-layered social, economic, political, and technological changes. Climate change, war, conflict, poverty, global public health, and other pandemics have demonstrated an unimagined influence on the elusive nature of human settlements. Policy-makers, professionals, developers, and scholars alike should understand the task of development and management of human settlements as being context specific
JAPANESE WOMEN\u27S ACTIVISM SUSTAINS A LIFE-GIVING COMMUNITY IN THE PANDEMIC
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic brought significant challenges to the women dependent on the healthcare and tourismindustries for the livelihood of their families. These challenges opened opportunities for organisations to alter their traditional forms of assistance into modalities that address the effects of the pandemic. I explore the Asian Women Empowerment Project (AWEP), a Japanbased organisation dedicated to helping poor women in Asian countries attain economic power. During the pandemic, AWEP attuned its programmes to respond to its challenges. Using ecofeminist theologian Sallie McFague’s ecological model, I demonstrate that AWEP reveals Japanese women’s acute understanding of a need for an ecological ethics of solidarity that includes ecological interests, a consciousness of solidarity, and cooperation through global sisterhood, which posits that women the world over share everyday experiences regardless ofrace, nationality, ethnicity, class, or economic status and, therefore, should help one another
‘It does not feel like I am a university student’: Considering the impact of online learning on first-year students’ sense of belonging in a ‘post pandemic’ academic literacy module
No full textBelonging is important for student motivation, retention and engagement. However, belonging is difficult to foster in the online environment, and the pandemic necessitating a shift to online learning has meant that many senior students may not feel that they belong at university. Drawing on qualitative data obtained via two online questionnaires, this paper conceptualises the impact of online learning on students’ sense of belonging by focusing on the interconnected nature of spatial, academic and social belonging, which serves to foster an overall sense of personal belonging. The paper also considers what the role of academic literacy modules is in this situation, as they are uniquely situated to foster a sense of belonging in students. A model for conceptualising the interconnected nature of belonging is also presented
From \u27business as usual\u27 to \u27business unusual\u27: Online academic literacy development for education students during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Get PDFThe Covid-19 pandemic brought about restrictions on physical interactions, which in many ways changed how we live and work. Due to these restrictions, writing centres at universities and other educational institutions around the world had to transition from traditional ways of supporting students to online or remote methods. To save the academic year, Wits University’s teaching and learning and other student support programmes, including the Wits School of Education Writing Centre (WSoE WC), were compelled to adopt Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTL). Transitioning to ERTL meant1 reimagining student support in an online mode. This paper explores how the WSoE WC transitioned from face-to-face student consultations to offering online academic literacy support and development. The paper highlights the adaptation process in the transition, particularly how the WSoE WC dealt with the varying complexities accompanying ERTL. The main question guiding this exploration is: How did the WSoE WC negotiate the move to online academic literacy support and development during the Covid-19 pandemic? Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with the director of the WSoE WC, who steered the adoption of the online mode and the peer tutors who worked directly with students online. The findings show that transitioning to the online mode during ERTL was difficult and complex. However, collective and individual agency enabled continued student academic literacy2 support despite disruption and change. This paper contributes to the ongoing conversation around the role of writing centres at universities in South Africa and beyond, particularly during disruptions.
An overview of an ombud office to enhance co-operation between School Governing Bodies and the Department of Education
Get PDFThere is ample evidence that the relationships between some school governing bodies (SGBs), provincial departments of education (DBEs) and the national Department of Education (DBE) are strained. In some instances, the parties resort to the courts to adjudicate the matter. This is contrary to the constitutional imperative of cooperation among organs of state and that litigation should be the last resort. This article provides an overview of the different generations of ombudsman offices, the range of powers that can be conferred upon them and the general advantages that an ombudsman office have. It also investigates the suitability of an ombudsman office to address the conflict among the mentioned stakeholders and to enhance cooperation among them
Community Translation and Modern Philosophy: The Rosetta Stele and African Orthographies
Get PDFThe Rosetta Stele, an inscribed stone slab, was discovered in July 1799 near the town of Rashid, ancient Rosetta, which is situated in the western part of the Nile delta of Egypt, by soldiers of Napoleon Bonaparte’s invading army. After the French surrender of Egypt in 1801, the stele passed into British hands and is now in the British Museum in London. The commemorative stele contains three versions of the same text (in Egyptian hieroglyphic, Egyptian Demotic and ancient Greek script, representing two varieties of the ancient Egyptian language and the ancient Greek language). It recounts a decree issued on 27 March 196 BCE by Egyptian priests during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of Ptolemy V Epiphanes to commemorate his crowning. It took more than 20 years and various attempts by scholars to decipher the Demotic and hieroglyphic Egyptian texts. This was done by utilising the mechanisms of modern philology, which had been established as a field early in the 1800s. Standing on the shoulders of his predecessors, Jean-François Champollion was the first Egyptologist to crack the code of hieroglyphic writing by realising that some of the signs were alphabetic, some syllabic, and some determinative. The discovery and decipherment of the Rosetta Stele put multilingualism and the practice of translation and interpreting during the Ptolemaic reign over Egypt into focus. In this essay we describe the rediscovery, as well as the emergence and growth of new knowledge, that was unlocked by the decipherment of the Rosetta Stele, including its implications for African orthographies