Towards the institutionalisation of community engagement in higher education in South Africa

Abstract

Although discourse related to the salience of community engagement in higher education has proliferated, little has focused on the process of institutionalisation of community engagement in South Africa. This paper presents findings from a national study that explored how community engagement could be institutionalised at higher education institutions locally. A qualitative research approach was used to guide the study and semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with members of executive management, members from the directorate and office of community engagement and academics from six universities nationally. Data revealed that there were eight key factors deserving of consideration in order to institutionalise community engagement through teaching and research, student involvement, transforming institutional infrastructure and through community partnerships.

Navigating the policy borrowing process of general education among the eight publicly funded universities in Hong Kong

“…As people come and go, any initiative that tends to become individual-driven can easily lose momentum or even fail once those key players are left. Therefore, institutionalising a well-established and well-operating system for GE can ensure that all the initiatives endure and proceed, regardless of how individuals and things change (Bhagwan, 2020). For instance, when the University of Hong Kong is putting forward the Common Core Curriculum, the senior management and administration proposed and circulated a detailed and transparent action plan with five phases of development from 2006 to 2016 as the time when the first new cohort of undergraduate students graduate by then.…”

Universities as anchor institutions in place-based development: Implications for South African universities engagement

“…However, the field of Community Engagement (CE) research has not been void of gaps, barriers, and tensions (Wangenge-Ouma and Fongwa 2012; Damons et al 2018;Almjeld et al 2022). The tensions and contradictions of what CE should be within the university, and how it is supported and institutionalized within the academe are some of the ways through which the gaps and tensions in the literature have been manifested (Bhagwan 2020;Pinheiro 2012;Favish 2010). While community engagement scholarship has evolved and gained significant currency within the South African higher education landscape, the policy and practical implications of universities serving their communities remain elusive (Bidandi, Ambe and Mukong 2021).…”

Motivación y apoyo organizacional como determinantes de la extensión universitaria de posgrado

“…Existen varios estudios que examinan múltiples aspectos de la vinculación o compromiso con la comunidad, encontrándose propuestas enfocadas en las políticas de vinculación y su institucionalización (Bhagwan, 2020;Correa et al, 2012), proyectos de investigación de base comunitaria (Brush et al, 2020;Chen et al, 2020;Harrington et al, 2019;Turin et al, 2021), estudios sobre resultados de Aprendizaje-Servicio (Gerstenblatt & Gilbert, 2014;Smith et al, 2017), entre otros. No obstante, existe una falta de literatura que aborde los factores motivacionales que inciden en una mayor disposición para llevar a cabo estas actividades.…”