Learning from Teaching in Communities: The Role of Higher Education in Africa

Abstract

This paper argues for the promotion of afrocentric, indigenous learning practices in higher education contexts. It explores the application and building of local knowledge through a pre-university level service learning course and concludes that universities need to make provision for such kinds of learning in order to widen their student clientele. The paper presents the outcomes of a programme of the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the Regional Psycho Social Support Initiative (REPSSI), where non-traditional learners from eight different African countries participated in a service-learning programme. Although it was not designed as a research study, the paper draws on empirical data in the form of learner reflective reports for its analysis. The University provided a situated, supported distance learning approach for 495 learners who were trained in the field of caring for and supporting vulnerable children in Africa through a service learning module.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n8p364