This reflective article responds to the question: "What values and lessons can be gained from codesign in a culturally and disciplinarily diverse cross-university student project?" The Polar Project is regarded as just such an initiative and was intended to boost innovative product development across fields of study between two higher education institutions (HEIs) located in Southern African Development Community (SADC) region countries. As lecturers, facilitators and mentors, the article's authors adopted a qualitative and interpretive approach for analysing student "reflections-in-action", using both reports and reflective questionnaires during the project's co-design process. We formulated our own analysis methods for the process of critical reflection, based on Schön's (1987) "reflection-on-action" model, to establish a way forward for the project. Through these reflections, the following critical themes were identified: (1) rewards for cross-cultural exchange; (2) multiple appreciations for collaboration; and (3) communication and miscommunication in cross-disciplinary groups. These themes provide an account of the practical implications for activities geared towards the agenda of internationalising higher educational practices, such as those applied in conducting this project. The contribution we hope to make is that, as HEIs enter onto internationalisation agendas, the voices and experiences of students should be recognised if, as important beneficiaries of the university system, they are to be properly considered.
This article explores understandings of a social justice-infused pedagogy whilst inspiring new approaches to design. Drawing on the work of Giroux (2004), hooks (2003) and Leibowitz and Bozalek (2016), amongst others, this paper offers a case study of a student project in a Department of Fashion at a Durban-based University of Technology (UoT), in which students partnered with community stakeholders on a collaborative handbag design project. The project involved using traditional Ghanaian Adinkra symbols as probes to explore how students and their community partners understand the concept of social justice pedagogy. Group interviews, photographs and thematic content analysis are used to collect and analyse data on understandings of social justice pedagogy. Consequently, three themes are discussed about the groups’ understanding of a socially infused pedagogy. Beyond their role in understanding this pedagogy, these historical symbols are noted by the groups as providing a new approach to their design process.
How to cite this article:
MCHUNU, Khaya. Appraising understandings of a social justice-infused pedagogy: Adinkra symbols as probes. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the South. v. 3, n. 2, p. 68-83. Sept. 2019. Available at: https://sotl-south-journal.net/?journal=sotls&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=85&path%5B%5D=47
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Arts and visual participatory methods can be effective tools to facilitate the experience of rural design actors involved in a co-design process that could be seen as contributions to the emerging praxis called “Design Social.” We identify the inclusion of visual processes to co-design and comanufacture Venda-fusion products with members of a South African rural-based sewing group called Zwonaka Sewing Co-operative. The co-design process involved a set of iterations that used visual modes such as Photovoice, painting, photographs, collaging and appliqué to create and market these products. Statements shared by the group members reveal the development of their personal agency, as well as confidence in product design, manufacturing, and ownership of the design process. These are significant outcomes for this particular social context, and we propose that the use of arts and visual methods enhances capacities of reciprocity, creative thinking and ownership through the co-design process.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.