An academic in the Faculty of Education, Prof Hanlie Dippenaar, is one of the editors of a recently launched book while Jacqui Scheepers, Manager: Service-Learning and Civic Engagement is one of the authors.
Another lecturer, Dr Rolene Liebenberg, a very experienced community engagement pioneer in the institution, is author of a chapter on “The transformative pedagogical potential of preservice teacher professional learning communities embedded in a mathematics service-learning course”.
The book is titled: Community Engagement Research in South Africa – Methods, Theories, Histories and Practice.
It is published by Van Schaik Publishers and emphasises the importance of community engagement in Higher Education.
“It showcases the value of partnering with communities, including community engagement and service-learning initiatives in the curriculum. It foregrounds students and academics as change agents in higher education,” said Dippenaar.
Dippenaar, who also authored a chapter in the book (“Collaboration embedded in service-learning through the lenses of a network of activity systems and a Change laboratory”), has been involved in Community Engagement and Service-learning since 2004, as a lecturer at the University of Pretoria (UP).
“When I joined CPUT in 2012, I continued this journey under the leadership of Mrs Jacqui Scheepers. Prof Irma Eloff, Dean of the Faculty of Education at UP at the time I was there, is one of the editors of the book, and invited me onto the project.”
She said the project was a lengthy one which took several years to complete, especially when the Covid-19 pandemic slowed things down.
“The authors who participated, however, are all experts in their fields and it was a privilege to work with them. Prof Elize van Eeden (editor) and Prof Irma Eloff are both experienced academics and I learned much from their leadership and guidance. We were all very passionate about the project as community engagement is an essential part of higher education and enhances the professional development of our students and lecturers,” Dippenaar said.
She added that working with colleagues collaboratively in community projects is very rewarding as it develops critical thinking, problem-solving and social responsibility.
“When we partner with our communities and learn from their skills and expertise, we prepare our students for a better society”. The cross-disciplinary engagement with community partnership has potential to provide a holistic view of education for students. Several chapters in this publication showcases examples of collaborative research.
At the book launch held at North West University, Beatrix Bouwman, former chairperson of the South African Higher Education Community Engagement Forum (SAHECEF), said universities can contribute to community development by applying the basic principles of community engagement such as engaged research that is relevant and addressing community needs, and by engaged teaching and learning such as service-learning.
“I am confident that the scholarly contributions that the book brings, will impact this field of studies and those who are serious about its development in South Africa, Africa and beyond.”
Scheepers said her units strive to support the scholarship of engagement, which benefits students, staff and external university partners.
“As one of the authors, I want to express my gratitude for being able to contribute to this book, and am proud that one of our own, Prof. Hanlie Dippenaar, is one of the editors. We will continue to celebrate the engaged research achievements of CPUT as we grow our research footprint for SL and CE.”
Dippenaar said all their community engagement initiatives at CPUT are guided by Scheepers and the Centre for Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning.
“They support us in all our projects, which was difficult during Covid. However, when we read the reflections and final reports by our students, we see the difference it made in their lives and how much they learned. The chapter I wrote in the book reflects some of our projects and was written in collaboration with Prof Marianne Teras from Stockholm University and Prof Eloff from UP. “
She said the project had been “most rewarding” and will contribute to the scholarship of service-learning and community engagement in Higher Education.
“I would like to thank all the authors for sharing their research and my co-editors for the privilege of working with them. I would also like to thank my Dean and colleagues from the Faculty of Education for opportunities to implement CE in our curriculum and look forward to taking this further in our new projects with colleagues and communities in and around CPUT as well as collaborating with partners overseas in a new project in India.”
Written by Ilse Fredericks
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