About
SOTL in the South is an online, open-access and peer-reviewed journal dedicated to fostering dialogue and research on teaching and learning in higher education in the global South, or about the global South.
We welcome the following contributions:
- Scholarly and thought-provoking contributions about the meaning and practice of the scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education, and about what the global South might mean in relation to teaching and learning.
- Reports on empirical studies based on teaching and learning in the disciplines in higher education, either in the global South, or about the South.
- Reports on studies on other matters related to higher education teaching and learning, for example on the professional learning of academics, in or about the global South.
Studies focused on topics including indigenous knowledge, decolonisation and social justice in relation to SOTL are welcome, as are studies that present contextually based issues, and which consider the implications of these for other settings in the global South. Innovative studies and innovative or disruptive writing formats will also be welcomed.
Submissions that would be regarded as inappropriate for the journal would include:
- Unscholarly manuscripts and manuscripts that do not adhere to the all the journal’s author guidelines
- Studies that do not focus on higher education; that do not focus on teaching and learning; that do not relate to the scholarship of teaching and learning; that do not theorise about research or are not research-based.
Indexation and Accreditation
SOTL in the South is indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) as well as on Sherpa/Romeo. The Journal is also accredited by Scopus (institutional access needed to view) and is currently under review for inclusion in Thomson Reuters/Web of Science. Note that the South African Department of Higher Education (DHET) accredits DOAJ journals, as well as Scopus-listed journals.
What is meant by the scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL)?
A very brief definition of SOTL is “where academics frame questions that they systematically investigate in relation to their teaching and their students’ learning” (Angela Brew, 2007). However more embracing definitions of SOTL may include investigations on the integration of research, teaching and community engagement; or the integration of research into teaching. The journal welcomes further deliberations on what SOTL means, or could mean.
What is meant by the ‘global South’?
The ‘global South’ is conceived of as a cluster of features which need to take into account issues of power differentials, technological and financial resourcing, and the recognition of indigenous knowledges. Although the global South is traditionally conceived of as including countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, it is not conceived of solely in geographic terms. The global South, more often than not, is faced with challenges typical of the post-colonial moment: income inequality, fractured identities, and contestation about knowledges. SOTL, in this global South, needs to adequately respond to these challenges within the resource constraints present and, in so doing, to speak back to dominant economic, social, philosophical and pedagogical frames of reference. The term is, understandably, contested, and seen as homogenising or creating binaries that need further scrutiny. The journal would welcome further considerations of this issue in relation to teaching and learning in higher education.
