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    Affective and embodied pedagogy as pathways to equity in curriculum and responsiveness
    (2022-12-31) Fomunyam, Kehdinga George
    The question of equity in the South African educational landscape and particularly in the curriculum at all levels cannot be over emphasised, however achieving this equity has proven to be daunting task. The purpose of this article is to explore affective and embodied pedagogy as alternative pathways to equity in curriculum and responsiveness. Hamilton (2007) argues that beyond the idea that equity is morally right, striving for radical educational equity, is a winning strategy for all learners regardless of their background. With resistance to the drive to achieve equity almost guaran-teed, questions arise on how to achieve the same and ensure that curriculum responsiveness takes places for all learners/students. This paper seeks to answer the question. This paper theorised affective and embodied pedagogy, and generated pathways or forces which can be used to establish equity and responsiveness in education. The paper proposes diffractive physicality, social vulnerability and rhizomatic spatiality as the key constructs for equity and responsiveness. The paper concludes that affective and embodied pedagogy can be used as pathways to achieve equity in curriculum and responsiveness.
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    Student engagement as pathway for deterritorialising curriculum internationalisation in higher education
    (Horizon Research Publishing Co., Ltd., 2020) Fomunyam, Kehdinga George
    This paper explores the concept of curriculum internationalisation in higher education. It recognises and articulates the fact that the curriculum internationalisation process needs to be deterritorialised and the best approach to this is ensuring student engagement. In discussing this in detail, the paper theorises student engagement and the different perspectives on and of engagement, discusses curriculum internationalisation and deterritorialisation. The paper then focuses on deterritorialising curriculum internationalisation through student engagement. The paper concludes with four key thoughts on curriculum internationalisation on the platform of student engagement in a deterritorialised context. The paper recommends that curriculum internationalisation should be contextual in nature. Also, deterritorialisation of the institution and the curriculum internationalisation process and the curriculum itself are key to successfully internationalising the curriculum and give students the best educational experience. Thirdly, for the curriculum internationalisation process to be successful, there is a need for a practical framework. And lastly, student engagement is critical in the internationalisation process and for the success of curriculum internationalisation itself
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    Theorising first-generation students’ successes at a historically white South African university
    (University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2019-12-30) Hlatshwayo, Mlamuli Nkosingphile; Fomunyam, Kehdinga George
    This article attempts to shift the first-generation literature to not only focus on the marginalised experiences of first-generation students, but to also theorise the successes that these students have experienced in negotiating a historically white higher education institution. To do this, data was generated using semistructured interviews and participants were sampled using snowball sampling and this ensured that the social networks and connections that these students have with one another, were accessed. 32 first generation students were recruited, and in-depth interviews were held with each of the participants, averaging one hour per student. The data or findings indicate that the success of first-generation students largely depends on four key forces – the force of diligence, the force of language, the force of personal attributes, as well as the force of personal relationships. Bourdieu’s field theory, capital (social and cultural), and habitus were employment to further make sense of the findings. All these forces play a critical role in ensuring that first-generation students are not only able to negotiate their marginality in a historically white HE, but that they are successful.
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    Rationalising the teaching intention of international postgraduate student lecturers
    (Horizon Research Publishing Co., Ltd., 2021) Matola, Noluthando; Fomunyam, Kehdinga George; Khoza, Simon Bheki
    Higher education students around the globe have continually searched for opportunities to further their education abroad, looking beyond the provisions of their home country in pursuit of quality education. Most of these students are either tutors, teaching assistants, or in lecturing roles within the university environment. Using a qualitative case-study approach, this paper investigates the teaching intention of international postgraduate student lecturers at a university in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This is in a bid to understand why these students choose to become involved in the teaching and learning process as lecturers. Participants were purposefully selected from a sample population of registered international postgraduate students at the university; and these participants were chosen in an order which ensured representation. Semi-structured interviews and observation methods were used, and data generated were analysed using grounded analysis. Findings reveal that international postgraduate students in this university chose lecturing, owing to the financial preconditions of undertaking postgraduate studies, to improve their interpersonal, communication, and cross-cultural skills, and also owing to legal restrictions. This paper therefore concludes that these reasons are valid and recommend several ways of helping these student lecturers function both effectively and efficiently.
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    Transforming the teaching and learning process in South African higher institutions
    (Horizon Research Publishing Co., Ltd., 2022) Matola, Noluthando; Fomunyam, Kehdinga George; Moyo, Sibusiso
    Teaching and learning is a complex process, which deals with different individuals with different expectations from diverse backgrounds, with different cultural and social capital involved in this process. The teaching and learning process in most South African institutions of higher learning has been plagued by several challenges over the last decade. In this research, the experiences of international postgraduate student lecturers teaching at a university in KwaZulu-Natal were examined. Utilizing the curricular spider web as its framework, it evaluates the experiences of international students lecturing at a university in KwaZulu-Natal, in order to identify the challenges faced by students in this institution during the teaching and learning process, and create a transformation path that can be adopted by other South African institutions of higher learning. This framework utilizes ten different components, each answering some key questions, and all stemming from the rationale for teaching and learning. Using a qualitative case study approach, this research conducted semi-structured interviews involving six participants who were pursuing different postgraduate degrees at the University. Interviews with each participant were conducted in English, lasted about 60 minutes each, and were digitally recorded and transcribed afterwards. Data were analyzed using an open coded process and findings reveal that transforming the teaching and learning process at these institutions of higher learning will largely involve making major changes to the curriculum content, learning activities, and learning resources.
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    Theorizing international postgraduate student lecturers' experiences in South Africa
    (2021-06-01) Kehdinga, George Fomunyam; Noluthando, Matola
    The internationalisation and globalisation of our current world has led to the mobility of students across borders in the pursuit of quality education. South Africa has become a popular choice destination for some of these students who intend to further their studies by undertaking postgraduate programs in different fields. For variety of reasons, these students take up part time jobs whilst studying, and some continue to tow the education line by becoming part time lecturers. This paper explores the experiences of postgraduate student lecturers in South Africa. Using a qualitative case study research approach, this paper adopts a purposeful sampling strategy to generate data from participants who were pursuing their postgraduate degrees at masters and PhD levels. Findings reveal that the major challenges faced by postgraduate student lecturers in South Africa include culture shock, technological barrier, inadequate academic resources to work with, and the struggle to create a study-work-life balance. This paper recommends that international postgraduate students lecturing be trained and taught the basics of some South African cultures before they are allowed to handle students in the classroom. The learning environment should be made conducive enough to facilitate effective teaching and learning because, overcrowded classrooms affect both lecturers and students. Lastly, these student lecturers should be offered training in the use of technologies used for delivering their lectures, and all learning resources needed to ensure a seamless teaching and learning process should be made available
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    Challenges of student accommodation at institutions of higher learning : a case study of University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
    (Centre for the Study of Southern African Literature and Languages, 2022-12-12) Adam, Ahmed Sadeq; Adam, Pamela; Adam, Jamila Khatoon; Krishna, Suresh Babu Naidu
    Access to higher education by the general populace in South Africa has been steadily increasing over the last decade. With this increase in access, major challenges have presented themselves that may compromise the transformational agenda for higher education in South Africa. The focus of this research was to examine the challenges associated with student accommodation. In total, 600 questionnaires were dispatched to students from the five campuses of University of KwaZulu-Natal and 453 were returned which gave a 75.5% response rate. The research instrument consisted of 31 items, with a level of measurement at a nominal or an ordinal level. Data obtained from the respondents included biographical data, quality of accommodation, accessibility and adequacy of accommodation, security, safety and health issues in the University accommodation. The questionnaire was the primary tool that was used to collect data and was distributed to students who lived in residences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). The data collected from the responses were analysed with SPSS version 24.0. The study’s focus was to examine various challenges associated with student accommodation in South Africa specifically UKZN and results indicated that accessibility to the university accommodation for residential purposes is a great challenge for many students. Other issues faced by students include insecurity on campus, irregular security checks, inefficient and untimely manner of the quality of services rendered by the hall management. Good and efficient accommodative measures by the university are necessary for quality academic output; hence, the need for critical intervention, as suggested in the study.