About us

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.

 

Indexation and Accreditation

SOTL in the South is indexed in Scopus, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) as well as on Sherpa/Romeo. 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.