Foundation for transdisciplinary education at Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Abstract

South Africa faces a multitude of social, economic and environmental challenges, which require well-considered planning efforts. However, the efficacy of the built environment professions to adequately plan for the current and future populations can to some extent be questioned. Factors that are arguably responsible for the failure of the professions to achieve the desired outcomes include the following: (1) the inability of professionals to comprehensively analyse community problems and (2) although the various professions might work on the same issues, they largely fail to transcend disciplinary boundaries. This state of affairs can in part be linked to the role of higher education, which is in a good position to equip future professionals with the skills required for the analysis of diverse societal problems. In spite of the importance of education and training, there is a paucity of literature that explore ways in which the South African higher education sector instils transdisciplinary thinking and, accordingly, imparts the requisite soft skills to students. Using the case study of Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town, the aim of this article was to present efforts that are pursued towards instilling transdisciplinarity in students. The efforts revolve around community service-learning pedagogy, which grants students a platform to work in close collaboration with communities. In the process, students and community members develop an in-depth understanding of the community’s problems and how they could be collectively resolved.

Actitudes transdisciplinarias en la práctica docente: el caso de una universidad de la República Mexicana

“…Para lograr ambientes de aprendizaje transdisciplinarios hay que favorecer el uso de estrategias didácticas activas y colaborativas como lo son: el aprendizaje basado en problemas y en proyectos, así como el design thinking que permiten diferentes niveles de integración y cooperación haciendo de la enseñanza y el aprendizaje una experiencia enriquecedora y transformadora (Rupnik y Avsec, 2020). Lo anterior tendrá aún mayor eficacia cuando se logra la vinculación de las y los estudiantes para la resolución de problemas de su comunidad promoviendo así la transdisciplinariedad del conocimiento y la interacción de la universidad con su entorno más cercano, mediante la extensión de la cultura (Mokhele y Pinfold, 2020). En suma, una visión transdisciplinar en la docencia universitaria incorpora la participación de diversos actores sociales dentro y fuera de la universidad, de tal manera que los alumnos sean capaces de desarrollar y profundizar en soluciones sostenibles e inclusivas (Urquiza y Labraña, 2022).…”

Bridging the gap between technical and social competencies of urban and regional planning through mobile technology: The case of Cape Peninsula University of Technology

“…As a transdisciplinary initiative, Goedverwacht servicelearning project involved students and academic staff from other departments of CPUT, namely, the Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying and the Department of Management and Project Management. The transdisciplinary aspects of the project are discussed in detail elsewhere (Mokhele & Pinfold 2020), and, thus not covered herein given that the focus of the research is specifically on the use of mobile technology by urban and regional planning students. Nonetheless, students from different departments worked on the project in groups varying from 12 to 24 members wherein one group per week visited the community.…”

Transdisciplinary service-learning for construction management and quantity surveying students

“…2 Despite service-learning being practised in many departments at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), there is a significant difference in the way service-learning is perceived by academics and the way in which it should be supported within the curriculum. 3 This article presents a transdisciplinary service-learning project undertaken by the Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying (CM&QS) at CPUT. Service-learning pedagogy was used to teach first-year diploma students a section of the course in Site Surveying.…”