Abstract
The conceptualisation of “community engagement” at Higher Education in South Africa remains a topic for debate in the transformation agenda. South African Indigenous knowledge has been transmitted and perennially refreshed through educational pedagogy that are characterized by a sensitivity to African Philosophy, axiology and the spirit of Ubuntu. This article presents a qualitative critical review from the perspective of African indigenous education of the conceptualisation of community engagement. Community engagement is explored as a contemporary pedagogical counterpart to the indigenous pedagogies that supported African epistemology and axiology and community engagement is positioned within a natural evolution of the South African indigenous education and human development framework. Since children are the most vulnerable and affected community it is postulated that a student-centred framework for community engagement would offer an empowering praxis for a new South African Indigenous Education. Community engagement conceptualised within African Indigenous Knowledge Systems is argued as a means towards authentic transformation giving “voice” and “agency” to communities across all levels of education. Within this framework, the article affirms the use of indigenous concepts and practices within a transformed education system where Higher Education assumes a key role-player in human development from the cradle to the grave.
Highlights
Community Engagement – The Pillar tossed on the Top of the Ivory TowerThe 1997, Education White Paper 3, in driving an agenda for the transformation of Higher Education, stated as a national goal, “To promote and develop social responsibility and awareness amongst students of the role of higher education in social and economic development through community service programmes” (South Africa, 1997:10)
Community Engagement replaced the notion of community “service” as a move away from a hierarchical connotation and community engagement was positioned as a third pillar alongside Teaching and Learning and Research
The article seeks to pave a new post-apartheid/post- colonial narrative for the conceptualisation of community engagement within an education system in a rapidly globalizing world. This calls for a fresh perspective, amongst academics and policy makers, of indigenous educational thought and practices as we re-contextualize them in contemporary educational systems
Summary
The 1997, Education White Paper 3, in driving an agenda for the transformation of Higher Education, stated as a national goal, “To promote and develop social responsibility and awareness amongst students of the role of higher education in social and economic development through community service programmes” (South Africa, 1997:10). In democratic South Africa, “The education system from the missionary to the colonial era, apartheid and beyond continues to erode the values of Ubuntu and the cultural context within which these values are found.” (Xulu, 2010: 81) Within this hegemonic paradigm, the role of universities in knowledge production and skills training for the development of capital and the growth of market economies in the 20th century occurred between two tensions; “...it is a public good – one which adds value to society by educating its people, who will be productive citizens, or a private good – one which mainly benefits individuals, who earn more money and enjoy other advantages as a result of their education (Bloom, Hartley and Rosovsky, 2006: 293-308). This article foregrounds the vital role in education which community engagement could play in socio-ecological development, with awareness and sensitivity to our inter-dependence and shared human values, amidst these conflicting and contrasting influences Against this backdrop, the article seeks to pave a new post-apartheid/post- colonial narrative for the conceptualisation of community engagement within an education system in a rapidly globalizing world. This calls for a fresh perspective, amongst academics and policy makers, of indigenous educational thought and practices as we re-contextualize them in contemporary educational systems
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