The interplay between structure, culture and agency on student learning and academic development activities – a trajectory of the University of Namibia

Abstract

Higher Education Institutions have reached the end of their lifespans, unless we reinvent them to fit the constantly changing context. This paper is a reflective piece interrogating the impact of the context (internationally, regionally, nationally and institutionally) on student learning and academic development and its implications for the Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in Namibia. It is part of a reflective practice required in the Postgraduate Diploma of Higher Education for Academic Developers at Rhodes University. The diploma requires that practitioners should develop a greater self-awareness of the nature and the impact of their performance, an awareness that creates opportunities for professional growth and development. The maximum benefits from reflection are said to occur when participants value their personal and intellectual growth and they have time to engage in meaning-making processes using systematic, rigorous and disciplined ways of thinking rooted in scientific inquiries. The course prescribed contextual anchors to make this learning episode meaningful. Consequently, a sociology theoretical framework that explains the interrelations of social structure, culture, and human agency, has been utilized as a lens for this reflective analysis. For that reason, data is based on empirical experiences and observations (culture), the actual legislations and policies of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) (structure), and documents analysis by an academic developer (human agent). In the light of analysing the context, the constraining and enabling factors for academic development and student learning are exposed. The discussion ends with a proposal of a new agenda to enhance student learning and academic development at HEIs in Namibia.