We would like to invite you to contribute to an upcoming issue, 7(1), of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) in the South journal, 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. This issue will be devoted to the topic of Doing Academia Differently, planned for publication in April 2023.
Background, rationale and theme
While there have been a wide range of efforts to transform higher education in South Africa, as well as elsewhere, with more recent emphasis on decolonising the university, a groundswell of dissatisfaction continues particularly with respect to the entrenchment of global neoliberalisation in the academy. Neoliberalism and corporatisation of the university has had a major impact on practices of academia and the lives of academics, as well as student/scholars and early-stage researchers (Bauman & Doskis, 2013; Braidotti, 2013; Callinicos, 2006). Higher education discourses and practices perpetuate injustices in organisational structures, and are visible in teaching methods and assessment mechanisms, research practices and publishing norms, curricular content and design of courses (Mbembe, 2016). For example, publishing and reviewing are scholarly practices which have become problematic in these neoliberal times, precisely because of the enormous demand for academics to publish their work in accredited and prestigious academic journals. Academics find that their career trajectories, including their employment prospects at other universities and their promotion to more senior levels in academia, is primarily based on their citations in so-called ‘A’ rated international journals. In addition to this, many academics are pressurised into the unpaid labour of conducting peer reviews of manuscripts for journals and publishers. If academics do not carefully organise themselves, they could be swamped by reviewing tasks and externally moderating large quantities of postgraduate work. Teaching loads are becoming higher and teaching is becoming increasingly casualised. The pressures that these imperatives place on academics are not conducive to quality thought, collaborative and generous engagement with others, all of which matter greatly in academia. Notwithstanding social justice emphases, the project of socially valuable research is being lost in the pursuit of individualised scholarship.
Much of the scholarship directed at social justice, transformation and decolonisation in the university, in both global and local contexts, has been engaged in a critical interrogation of the historical and contemporary logics of scholarship and how they reflect and reproduce unequal access, practices and privileges and bolster larger material-discursive inequalities and injustices. While valuable and necessary, efforts may have become stuck in a repetitive moment which fails to offer useful alternatives for re-thinking, re-making, reconfiguring and re-doing scholarship by taking a further step and asking what now? Importantly, ways of engaging in alternative, experimental and affirmative social justice scholarship remain relatively undeveloped.
In this regard, recent intellectual developments in the contemporary philosophical and theoretical fields of posthumanism, new materialism, non-representationalism and affective studies are offering ground-breaking possibilities of reconceptualising everyday practices of scholarship. Drawing on contemporary theoretical and methodological advances in these areas, we are looking for contributions which envisage ways of thinking otherwise in academia. Papers which would be considered for inclusion in this special issue would be those which resist the technicist and individualised outputs necessitated by neoliberalist imperatives (see Anderson & Harrison, 2010; Barad, 2007, 2020; Barad & Gandorfer 2021; Braidotti, 2013, 2019; Stengers, 2018; Thrift, 2008; Vannini, 2015).
The proposed special issue is specifically directed at papers which document practical and processual opening up of spaces for experimentation with alternative ways of making knowledge in higher education, through engaging novel, theoretically informed methodologies of research, pedagogies, reviewing, and other practices of scholarly engagement.
The scholarly themes which this special issue will be focusing on are the following:
Main Theme
How can we do academia differently by making affirmative scholarly spaces that rupture and re-imagine ideas and practices through experimentations with inventive methodologies? (Scholarly spaces inclusive of reading, writing, reviewing, pedagogic and curricula practice, researching, mentoring, supervising etc.)
Sub-themes
How could using theoretical tools such as new materialist, non-representational theories, and posthuman perspectives provide new insights for reconceptualising and conducting academic work and practice in higher education?
What experimental practices of doing academic work have been explored or can be invented?
What are the political implications of developing these practices in contexts of neoliberal higher education?
How might we actualise and/or disseminate these ideas and practices in different geopolitical locations and disciplines in ways that cultivate an ethos for socially just higher education?
What contributions might post-qualitative research methods offer the scholarship, theory and pedagogy of just academic practices in higher education?
Please indicate which of the sub-themes in relation to doing academia differently your paper will address. In addition to these sub-themes, we would be looking for papers which pertain to the focus and scope of the SOTL in the South journal for this themed issue. The journal accepts papers that pertain to its stated focus and scope, as stated on its website.
All articles will be subjected to a double-blind peer-review process. Submissions are encouraged from as many countries in the global South as possible, as well as from marginalised perspectives within the global North. Reviewers are solicited from countries across the global South. Submissions should be reviewed by individuals from more than one country in order to ensure relevance and readability for an international audience.
All submissions to SOTL in the South are subject to a plagiarism check using Turnitin.
Please submit proposed titles of your articles and an extended abstract of about 700 words to the guest editors, Professors Vivienne Bozalek (vbozalek@gmail.com) and Denise Newfield (newfield@iafrica.com) by 29 April 2022.
Title and extended abstracts (incorporating an abstract (150 - 200 words) and an introduction (500 words) (abstract and introduction +/- 700 words) – 29 April 2022
Notification of selected abstracts for themed issue –20 May 2022
Submission of articles to SOTL in the South (here, you must register as an author on the journal’s website and submit your article, which should be between 5 000 and 8 000 words) – 23 September 2022
Reviewer feedback – 23 October 2022
Webinar presentation of draft paper for those selected for submission to the themed issue of SoTL in the South – 23 November 2022
Reworked article – 31 December 2022
Approved by Guest Editors– 31 January 2023
Copy-editing and proofreading (February, March 2023)
Publication date: April 2023
We hope to publish between 5 and 18 articles in April 2023.
Guest editors
Vivienne Bozalek is an Emerita Professor in Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of the Western Cape, and Honorary Professor in the Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning (CHERTL) at Rhodes University. She was previously a Senior Professor and Director of Teaching and Learning at the University of the Western Cape. She holds a PhD from Utrecht University. Her research interests and publications include the political ethics of care and social justice, posthumanism and feminist new materialisms, innovative pedagogical practices in higher education, post-qualitative and participatory methodologies. Her most recent co-edited books include Theorising Learning to Teach in Higher Education with Brenda Leibowitz and Peter Kahn (Routledge, 2017), Socially Just Pedagogies: Posthumanist, Feminist and Materialist Perspectives in Higher Education with Rosi Braidotti, Tamara Shefer and Michalinos Zembylas (Routledge 2019), Nancy Fraser and Participatory Parity: Reframing Social Justice in South African Higher Education with Dorothee Hölscher and Michalinos Zembylas (Routledge, 2020), Posthuman and Political Care: Ethics for Reconfiguring Higher Education with Michalinos Zembylas and Joan Tronto (Routledge, 2021), Post-Anthropocentric Social Work: Critical Posthuman and New Materialist Perspectives, with Bob Pease (Routledge, 2021), and Higher education Hauntologies: Living with Ghosts for a Justice-to-come with Michalinos Zembylas, Siddique Motala and Dorothee Hölscher (Routledge, 2021). She is the editor-in-chief of the open-source online journal, Critical Studies in Teaching and Learning.
Email address: vbozalek@gmail.com
Denise Newfield is a long-standing teacher educator and researcher in the fields of literacy, language and literature. She taught English and Education at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, for many years and is now a researcher and graduate supervisor. She holds a PhD from the University of London in the field of multimodality in education. Her research interests and publications span curricular and pedagogic innovation and transformation especially in contexts of disadvantage, multimodality, multiliteracies, poetry in society and in education, indigeneity and decoloniality. In recent years, she has been involved in posthumanist, feminist new materialist and post-qualitative approaches to research and pedagogy, both in higher education and at secondary school level. She established ZAPP (the South African Poetry Project) in 2013 and was appointed its director. Amongst her publications are a special edition of English Studies in Africa, entitled ‘English Education in Africa’ (49.1, 2006) (co-edited with Pippa Stein), which contains her award-winning article, ‘Mobilising and modalising poetry in a Soweto classroom’; Multimodal Approaches to Research and Pedagogy (co-edited with Arlene Archer, Routledge 2014); and a special issue of Education as Change (2020, vol 24), entitled Decoloniality in/and Poetry (co-edited with Katlego Shoro and Deirdre Byrne). Recent articles include ‘Poetry as a multimodal genre’ (TESOL Quarterly) and ‘Towards Decolonising Poetry in Education: the ZAPP Project’ (Education as Change).
We are inviting contributions to a special issue of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) in the South journal, 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. This issue will be devoted to the topic of Out-of-Classroom Learning: Revisiting Value and Impact.
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, safe distancing measures were implemented at most, if not all, higher education institutions. As a result, out-of-classroom activities and interactions became non-existent or were moved online. Some were later conducted using a hybrid approach when the pandemic eased. Unlike out-of-classroom activities, attention was given to ensuring that formal lessons continued during the pandemic. This raises questions about the value proposition of out-of-classroom learning. In particular, what is the currency of out-of-classroom learning within the context of holistic student learning in higher education? We propose a few key areas to be interrogated in this special issue.
First, what the pandemic has surfaced more prominently is the issue of accessibility, mobility, and equality of opportunities to out-of-classroom learning. Here, we define out-of-classroom learning broadly to encompass activities students are involved in that are beyond the formal curriculum, yet are deemed critical to holistic development. Examples are student life, residential life experiences, co-curricular and co-academic activities, internships, and community engagement opportunities. These issues have implications on parity and access to learning. How did universities, especially those with limited resources, respond to such issues during the pandemic? What lessons might universities have learned from the pandemic that are valuable post-pandemic?
Second, we have seen rapid transformation in several industries in recent years. Some jobs have become redundant, and some highly valued competencies have become obsolete. In their place are demands for new skills, dispositions, literacies and competencies to match innovations motivated by fast-moving artificial intelligence technologies. For instance, more focus has now been placed on interdisciplinary knowledge, data and digital literacy competencies. Besides new skillsets and competencies, in the recent years, there is an increasing emphasis on the dispositions of resilience and mental wellness. In order to address these changes, learning in the classroom need to be complemented and supported by out-of-classroom learning that reinforces and strengthens these dispositions. It thus is timely to examine the context and nature of out-of-classroom activities that facilitate learning and complement in-class learning. How do transformations in the workplace impact out-of-classroom curricula and activities (and vice versa)? How can the significance of out-of-classroom learning be reflected in students’ record of accomplishments? Specifically, what value do employers place on or derive from such a transcript?
Third, central to discussion of out-of-classroom learning is what Lambert and Felten (2020) refer to as relationship-rich education, where students, student needs, and learning outcomes have a significant impact on student growth. How do out-of-classroom curricula and activities explore relationships in both formal and informal spaces: student-student, student-faculty, student-faculty-alumni/external stakeholders? What are the challenges encountered, the successful approaches that universities have implemented, and the insights gained in building these relationships?
Finally, on the point of impact, while students in higher education are encouraged to participate in out-of-classroom activities, research tracing the impact of involvement in out-of-classroom learning seems limited. How do we know the extent to which these initiatives, programmes and activities have been impactful? And whom do they benefit? Broadly, what are some measures and indicators of out-of-classroom learning impact and success?
In this special issue, we invite the submission of papers that interrogate the value propositions and impact of out-of-classroom learning in higher education, focusing particularly on issues in the global South. Please see our our website for a discussion of how we conceptualise the global South. Contributions may include articles based on empirical research, scholarly and thought-provoking conceptual papers, and reflections on the following areas:
Reframing the value propositions and philosophies of out-of-classroom learning in higher education for the global South
Redefining care in residential programmes: resilience, mental agility, emotional wellness
Re-examining practices advocating culture of respect and consent, diversity and inclusion
Re-thinking engagement and service in community engagement and service learning
Relationships in student engagement: student partnership, alumni engagement
Agency in out-of-classroom curricula: student voice, student advocacy
Integrating formal and out-of-classroom curricula
Peer-to-peer learning in out-of-classroom contexts
Challenges and opportunities in implementing out-of-classroom curricula
Measuring the impact/learning of out-of-classroom curricula and reflecting the learning achieved
Reference
Lambert, L.M., & Felten, P. (2020). Relationship-rich education: How human relations drive success
in college. John Hopkins University Press.
Anticipated deadlines
Full papers due: May 2024
Reviewer feedback returned: July 2024
Revised submissions due: September 2024
Reviewer feedback returned (if necessary): November 2024
Revised submissions due (if necessary): January2024
Final acceptance of papers: February 2025
Date of publication: April 2025
Funding
Articles are freely accessible and there are no processing fees.
Should you be interested and in a position to submit an article for publication in the journal, please register as a user on the website and upload your article. Articles should be 5000-8000 words in length including references and endnotes. Further instructions can be found on our website – see instructions for authors.
GOOD NEWS for those who are battling to meet the deadlines!
Hi Everyone!
In response to numerous requests, the deadline for the submission of abstracts to SOTL4 the South has been extended to 31 May 2023.
We do, however, encourage you to submit your abstract as soon as possible and not wait until the end – as the sooner it is submitted the sooner it can be reviewed and processed and we can inform you of the outcome. This will facilitate things your end in terms of institutional approval.
The abstract template and submission instructions can be found on sotl4thesouth.org.za (select Abstract/Proposal). If you experience any technical difficulties, please contact Anton at secretariat@sotl4thesouth.org.za
We hope to welcome you to SOTL4 and are looking forward to your participation!
For more information on SOTL4, please visit the website and check for regular updates
The 4th biennial SOTL in the South Conference, SOTL 4 the South (SOTL4), will be hosted by the University of the Free State (UFS) Qwaqwa Campus from 21 to 23 November, 2023 at the Golden Gate Hotel, in the eastern Free State. This international conference will welcome scholars, educators, researchers, students and other members of academia from around the world, and provides the platform to share research findings with global experts, and the opportunity to engage in cross-border learning and identify new partnerships and opportunities.
The theme for SOTL4 is: Teaching and Learning for Sustainable Futures
Proposals for oral presentations, poster presentations and panels are welcomed. We are also interested in proposals suggesting interesting and innovative formats to share knowledge (e.g. artistic performances, visual displays) and communication forms drawing on indigenous knowledge systems. We also encourage contributions from postgraduate and undergraduate students. Themes on teaching and learning in higher education that will be featured at the conference include, but are not restricted to:
Teaching and learning for sustainable livelihoods
Teaching and learning for environmental sustainability
Teaching and learning for environmental and social justice
Teaching and learning for addressing challenges of inequality and underdevelopment
Digital futures for teaching and learning
Indigenous knowledge systems and sustainability in teaching and learning
Pedagogical innovations for sustainability education
Epistemic diversity for sustainability education
Learning-centred approaches to teaching
Promoting student voices in teaching and learning for sustainability
Innovation in teaching and learning
Postgraduate teaching and learning
Thinking creatively for future scenarios
All abstracts will be reviewed for originality, relevance to the conference theme, accuracy and research depth. All submissions should report previously unpublished research findings, irrespective of the research paper type.
The abstracts of all accepted papers will be published in the Conference Abstract Book, and authors of selected papers will be invited to publish their research in a special issue of the journal SOTL in the South, to appear in 2024.
Important Information:
Confirmed Keynote Speakers:
Prof Melanie Walker (SARChI Chair in Higher Education and Human Development, University of the Free State)
Prof Heila Lotz-Sisitka (SARChI Chair in Global Change and Social Learning Systems Development, Rhodes University)
Important Dates:
Abstract Submission Deadline: 28 April 2023
Outcome of abstract review: 16 June 2023
Early Bird Registration Deadline: 30 June 2023
Author Registration Deadline: 29 September 2023
Attendee Registration Deadline: 3 November 2023
Workshops:
Pre-conference workshop (20 November 2023): Tool, skills and strategies to teach students to be sustainable citizens through curriculum and assessment design and innovation. Space will be limited to 40 attendees.
Post-conference writing retreat (24 November 2023): This one-day retreat in Clarens will provide attendees an opportunity to refine their conference papers for publication while guided by a critical reader. Space will be limited to 15.
We are inviting contributions to a special issue, 7(3), of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) in the South journal, 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. This issue will be devoted to the topic of Reframing and re-purposing assessment in higher education in the global South.
Of the many challenges and disruptions faced by the global higher education sector in recent years, assessment during the Covid-19 pandemic was arguably the most significant. From initial challenges related to technological knowledge of learning management systems, internet connectivity and conducive spaces for completion of remote assessments, to lecturer concerns regarding standards and academic integrity, assessment came to the fore as one of the most demanding and complex elements of emergency remote teaching and learning (ERT&L).
Many notable attempts were made by institutions locally and globally to address and resolve the various challenges that emerged. These responses are well documented in the plethora of papers and chapters published on ERT&L over the last two years, with many of the reported responses largely affirmative and geared towards maintaining the status quo. However, the disruption to the status quo in the shift to ERT&L provided an unprecedented opportunity to examine the deeper systemic issues underlying the challenges more critically and reflexively. In the context of the global South, for example, lecturers were afforded insights into the lives and challenges experienced by some students, and the potential injustices of reinforcing assessment practices that ignore the student experience. For many, there was also a sobering realisation of the complexity of assessments in higher education, especially in the wider context of increasing massification, decreasing human and fiscal resources, and widening inequalities.
The Covid-19 crisis thus provided the impetus for a long overdue interrogation of dominant assessment paradigms, including the mechanisms and conditions holding entrenched assessment practices in stasis. In some instances, discussions gave way for more critical and nuanced considerations of the philosophies and purposes of assessment, resulting in innovative, contextually relevant and more inclusive practices, which could contribute to genuine possibilities for transformative shifts. In others, however, it resulted in increasing the divide between those students who had access to resources and those who did not.
At the present juncture, institutions have now shifted out of emergency mode, and many students and lecturers have rapidly returned to pre-Covid “norms”. In this special edition, we invite the submission of papers that leverage the lessons learnt and insights gained during the disruption of Covid-19 to re-frame and re-purpose assessments for inclusive, contextually relevant, and sustainable outcomes in higher education in the global South. See our our website for a discussion of how we conceptualise the global South.
Contributions may include scholarly and thought-provoking papers on:
Reframing the purpose, philosophies and principles of assessment in higher education for the global South
Diversity, exclusion and inclusion in assessment and feedback practices
Ethics of care and ethics of justice in assessment and feedback practices
Authentic assessment for SDG goals in the global South context
Challenges and possibilities for assessment of inter-, cross-, and trans-disciplinary learning outcomes
Dismantling the ‘marks driven’ assessment culture
Transforming assessments for student empowerment, criticality, and life-long learning
Democratisation of assessment, including critical appraisals of the power dynamics of current assessment practices
Decolonisation of assessments, including design of assessments for different epistemologies
Anticipated deadlines
Full paper due: 5 March 2023
Reviewer feedback returned: 24 April 2023
Revised submission due: 31 May 2023
Reviewer feedback returned: 31 July 2023
Revised submission due: 31 August 2023
Acceptance of paper: 31 October 2023
Date of publication: Mid-December 2023
Funding
Articles are freely accessible and there are no processing fees.
Should you be interested and in a position to submit an article for publication in the journal, please register as a user on the website and upload your article. Articles should be 5000-8000 words in length including references and endnotes. Further instructions can be found on our website – see instructions for authors.
The 4th biennial SOTL in the South Conference, SOTL 4 the South (SOTL4), will be hosted by the University of the Free State (UFS) Qwaqwa Campus from 21 to 23 November, 2023 at the Golden Gate Hotel, in the eastern Free State. This international conference will welcome scholars, educators, researchers, students and other members of academia from around the world, and provides the platform to share research findings with global experts, and the opportunity to engage in cross-border learning and identify new partnerships and opportunities.
The theme for SOTL4 is: Teaching and Learning for Sustainable Futures
Proposals for oral presentations, poster presentations and panels are welcomed. We are also interested in proposals suggesting interesting and innovative formats to share knowledge (e.g. artistic performances, visual displays) and communication forms drawing on indigenous knowledge systems. We also encourage contributions from postgraduate and undergraduate students. Themes on teaching and learning in higher education that will be featured at the conference include, but are not restricted to:
Teaching and learning for sustainable livelihoods
Teaching and learning for environmental sustainability
Teaching and learning for environmental and social justice
Teaching and learning for addressing challenges of inequality and underdevelopment
Digital futures for teaching and learning
Indigenous knowledge systems and sustainability in teaching and learning
Pedagogical innovations for sustainability education
Epistemic diversity for sustainability education
Learning-centred approaches to teaching
Promoting student voices in teaching and learning for sustainability
Innovation in teaching and learning
Postgraduate teaching and learning
Thinking creatively for future scenarios
All abstracts will be reviewed for originality, relevance to the conference theme, accuracy and research depth. All submissions should report previously unpublished research findings, irrespective of the research paper type.
The abstracts of all accepted papers will be published in the Conference Abstract Book, and authors of selected papers will be invited to publish their research in a special issue of the journal SOTL in the South, to appear in 2024.
Important Information:
Confirmed Keynote Speakers:
Prof Melanie Walker (SARChI Chair in Higher Education and Human Development, University of the Free State)
Prof Heila Lotz-Sisitka (SARChI Chair in Global Change and Social Learning Systems Development, Rhodes University)
Important Dates:
Abstract Submission Deadline: 28 April 2023
Outcome of abstract review: 16 June 2023
Early Bird Registration Deadline: 30 June 2023
Author Registration Deadline: 29 September 2023
Attendee Registration Deadline: 3 November 2023
Workshops:
Pre-conference workshop (20 November 2023): Tool, skills and strategies to teach students to be sustainable citizens through curriculum and assessment design and innovation. Space will be limited to 40 attendees.
Post-conference writing retreat (24 November 2023): This one-day retreat in Clarens will provide attendees an opportunity to refine their conference papers for publication while guided by a critical reader. Space will be limited to 15.
We are inviting contributions to a special issue, 7(3), of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) in the South journal, 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. This issue will be devoted to the topic of Reframing and re-purposing assessment in higher education in the global South.
Of the many challenges and disruptions faced by the global higher education sector in recent years, assessment during the Covid-19 pandemic was arguably the most significant. From initial challenges related to technological knowledge of learning management systems, internet connectivity and conducive spaces for completion of remote assessments, to lecturer concerns regarding standards and academic integrity, assessment came to the fore as one of the most demanding and complex elements of emergency remote teaching and learning (ERT&L).
Many notable attempts were made by institutions locally and globally to address and resolve the various challenges that emerged. These responses are well documented in the plethora of papers and chapters published on ERT&L over the last two years, with many of the reported responses largely affirmative and geared towards maintaining the status quo. However, the disruption to the status quo in the shift to ERT&L provided an unprecedented opportunity to examine the deeper systemic issues underlying the challenges more critically and reflexively. In the context of the global South, for example, lecturers were afforded insights into the lives and challenges experienced by some students, and the potential injustices of reinforcing assessment practices that ignore the student experience. For many, there was also a sobering realisation of the complexity of assessments in higher education, especially in the wider context of increasing massification, decreasing human and fiscal resources, and widening inequalities.
The Covid-19 crisis thus provided the impetus for a long overdue interrogation of dominant assessment paradigms, including the mechanisms and conditions holding entrenched assessment practices in stasis. In some instances, discussions gave way for more critical and nuanced considerations of the philosophies and purposes of assessment, resulting in innovative, contextually relevant and more inclusive practices, which could contribute to genuine possibilities for transformative shifts. In others, however, it resulted in increasing the divide between those students who had access to resources and those who did not.
At the present juncture, institutions have now shifted out of emergency mode, and many students and lecturers have rapidly returned to pre-Covid “norms”. In this special edition, we invite the submission of papers that leverage the lessons learnt and insights gained during the disruption of Covid-19 to re-frame and re-purpose assessments for inclusive, contextually relevant, and sustainable outcomes in higher education in the global South. See our our website for a discussion of how we conceptualise the global South.
Contributions may include scholarly and thought-provoking papers on:
Reframing the purpose, philosophies and principles of assessment in higher education for the global South
Diversity, exclusion and inclusion in assessment and feedback practices
Ethics of care and ethics of justice in assessment and feedback practices
Authentic assessment for SDG goals in the global South context
Challenges and possibilities for assessment of inter-, cross-, and trans-disciplinary learning outcomes
Dismantling the ‘marks driven’ assessment culture
Transforming assessments for student empowerment, criticality, and life-long learning
Democratisation of assessment, including critical appraisals of the power dynamics of current assessment practices
Decolonisation of assessments, including design of assessments for different epistemologies
Anticipated deadlines
Full paper due: 13 February 2023
Reviewer feedback returned: 24 April 2023
Revised submission due: 31 May 2023
Reviewer feedback returned: 31 July 2023
Revised submission due: 31 August 2023
Acceptance of paper: 31 October 2023
Date of publication: Mid-December 2023
Funding
Articles are freely accessible and there are no processing fees.
Should you be interested and in a position to submit an article for publication in the journal, please register as a user on the website and upload your article. Articles should be 5000-8000 words in length including references and endnotes. Further instructions can be found on our website – see instructions for authors.
We are inviting contributions to a special issue, 7(3), of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) in the South journal, 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. This issue will be devoted to the topic of Reframing and re-purposing assessment in higher education in the global South
Of the many challenges and disruptions faced by the global higher education sector in recent years, assessment during the Covid-19 pandemic was arguably the most significant. From initial challenges related to technological knowledge of learning management systems, internet connectivity and conducive spaces for completion of remote assessments, to lecturer concerns regarding standards and academic integrity, assessment came to the fore as one of the most demanding and complex elements of emergency remote teaching and learning (ERT&L).
Many notable attempts were made by institutions locally and globally to address and resolve the various challenges that emerged. These responses are well documented in the plethora of papers and chapters published on ERT&L over the last two years, with many of the reported responses largely affirmative and geared towards maintaining the status quo. However, the disruption to the status quo in the shift to ERT&L provided an unprecedented opportunity to examine the deeper systemic issues underlying the challenges more critically and reflexively. In the context of the global South, for example, lecturers were afforded insights into the lives and challenges experienced by some students, and the potential injustices of reinforcing assessment practices that ignore the student experience. For many, there was also a sobering realisation of the complexity of assessments in higher education, especially in the wider context of increasing massification, decreasing human and fiscal resources, and widening inequalities.
The Covid-19 crisis thus provided the impetus for a long overdue interrogation of dominant assessment paradigms, including the mechanisms and conditions holding entrenched assessment practices in stasis. In some instances, discussions gave way for more critical and nuanced considerations of the philosophies and purposes of assessment, resulting in innovative, contextually relevant and more inclusive practices, which could contribute to genuine possibilities for transformative shifts. In others, however, it resulted in increasing the divide between those students who had access to resources and those who did not.
At the present juncture, institutions have now shifted out of emergency mode, and many students and lecturers have rapidly returned to pre-Covid “norms”. In this special edition, we invite the submission of papers that leverage the lessons learnt and insights gained during the disruption of Covid-19 to re-frame and re-purpose assessments for inclusive, contextually relevant, and sustainable outcomes in higher education in the global South. See our our website for a discussion of how we conceptualise the global South.
Contributions may include scholarly and thought-provoking papers on:
Reframing the purpose, philosophies and principles of assessment in higher education for the global South
Diversity, exclusion and inclusion in assessment and feedback practices
Ethics of care and ethics of justice in assessment and feedback practices
Authentic assessment for SDG goals in the global South context
Challenges and possibilities for assessment of inter-, cross-, and trans-disciplinary learning outcomes
Dismantling the ‘marks driven’ assessment culture
Transforming assessments for student empowerment, criticality, and life-long learning
Democratisation of assessment, including critical appraisals of the power dynamics of current assessment practices
Decolonisation of assessments, including design of assessments for different epistemologies
Anticipated deadlines
Full paper due: 13 February 2023
Reviewer feedback returned: 24 April 2023
Revised submission due: 31 May 2023
Reviewer feedback returned: 31 July 2023
Revised submission due: 31 August 2023
Acceptance of paper: 31 October 2023
Date of publication: Mid-December 2023
Funding
Articles are freely accessible and there are no processing fees.
Should you be interested and in a position to submit an article for publication in the journal, please register as a user on the website and upload your article. Articles should be 5000-8000 words in length including references and endnotes. Further instructions can be found on our website – see instructions for authors.
Dear SOTL in the South readers, reviewers and contributors
We would like you to know that SOTL in the South will now be published three times per year: in April, August and December. This is due to the increasing number of submissions being received, and the increasing interest in scholarship of teaching and learning in and about the global South.
We look forward to continuing to support and encourage Southern scholarship in teaching and learning.
