Work

Towards a conceptual understanding of community engagement in higher education in South Africa

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: As attention to community engagement grows, it is critical that academics, students and community collaborators understand how it is conceptualised. This paper presents findings from a qualitative inquiry with academics and community engagement administrators nationally with regard to how they conceptualise community engagement. Six universities were included in the sample that was selected purposefully from the South African Higher Education Community Engagement Forum (SAHECEF) list. Four major themes emerged from the data and focussed on context, process, mutual beneficial relationship and knowledge production. The data reflected a diverse array of conceptualisations on a continuum that ranged from the university-community dyad to that of the co-production of knowledge.

Source: Perspectives in Education

DOI: 10.18820/2519593x/pie.v35i1.13

Author: Professor Raisuyah Bhagwan

Institution: Durban University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Service-Learning and Community Engagement

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $190