Critical Studies in Teaching and Learning

Editorial

Langutani Mary Masehela — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Hydrofeminist Thinking with Oceans: Political and Scholarly Possibilities

Hugo ka Canham — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Shefer, T., Bozalek, V. and Romano, N. (Eds.). 2024 Hydrofeminist Thinking with Oceans: Political and Scholarly Possibilities. London: Routledge. ISBN: 9781032408996

Reparative Futures and Transformative Learning Spaces

Francisca Espínola Infante — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Thirty Years of Literacies Testing at the University of Cape Town: A Critical Reflection on the Work and its Impact.

Laura Dison, Maria Prozesky — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Cliff, A. 2024. Thirty Y ears of Literacies Testing at the University of Cape Town: A Critical Reflection on the Work and its Impact . London: Springer. ISBN: 9783031586781

Sustainable community engagement within the Arts: A conceptual framework

Yvonne-Marié Brand, Janelize Morelli — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This conceptual paper explores the complexities of fostering sustainable community engagement within the Arts by developing a theoretically grounded framework informed by the literature and practice. Our engagement with the topic emerged through an iterative process of critical reflection and qualitative document analysis. Rather than offering prescriptive models or fixed outcomes, we present this framework as a contribution to the ongoing dialogue about the role of the Arts in higher education contexts in advancing sustainability. We begin by positioning our work within current debates on community engagement and sustainability, followed by a discussion of the theoretical framing that guided the conceptual development of our argument. The framework is structured on the basis of six interrelated themes – culturally responsive practices, integrated cross-disciplinary collaboration, dynamic impact assessment, synergistic community alliances, systems integration, and reflective practice. We offer these as entry points for further reflection and refinement, particularly for scholars and practitioners navigating the intersection of the Arts, education and sustainable community engagement

Reflecting on the impacts on undergraduate economic and management science students of a Freirean-inspired module in sustainability education

Neil Eccles — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I reflect on impacts of a Freirean-inspired module designed to conscientise and implicate economic and management science students in socio-economic and environmental challenges. A conceptual framework proposed by Hopwood, et al. (2005) was used to compare student positions in relation to these challenges based on their pre- and post-module opinions. In terms of socio-economic concerns, the results indicated a reformist central tendency, with an aversion for anything radically transformative. Participating in the module had no significant effect on this. In terms of environmental concerns, students separated into two groups: those who clustered around wanting to maintain the status quo, and a noticeable minority who expressed transformative views. Participating in the module shifted student opinions towards greater environmental concern. Based on this, I reflect critically on humility, the paradox of respecting student subjectivity vs activism, Freirean ‘unfinishedness’, and the importance of small victories.

Beyond the blueprint: (De)constructing mentorship for mid-career academics

Heidi Matisonn, Amanda Hlengwa — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

While mentorship has existed ever since Odysseus set sail for Troy, in recent decades, there has been an explosion of interest in the concept. Although there is no consensus on what the ‘best’ model of mentorship is, there is acceptance that mentoring plays a crucial role in the success of academic careers. In what follows, we use collaborative autoethnography to present our contrasting experiences to explore the connection between mentoring and the progression of an academic through the various stages of their career. We employ the analogy of building a house and making a home to argue that while early career academics can benefit from mentorship that addresses the basic elements of an academic career, mid-career academics require more specialised interventions - some of which go beyond mentoring - that are tailored to the individual needs and personal plans for shaping their careers.

Critical considerations for COIL practitioners in Higher Education

Tarryn Frankish, Sphelele Ngubane, Andrea Alcock — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In this paper, we conduct a collaborative autoethnography to guide our reading of text on collaborative, international online projects in higher education and in South Africa. Our reading reveals patterns that speak to critical considerations for those planning projects in the context or from similar positions within the Global South or other developing contexts. As COIL practitioners in South Africa, we reflect on the literature from the unique situatedness of our learning and teaching environments and broader social context. The insights we offer will help us to develop a toolbox that speaks to our positionality as academics and the intersectional dynamics of our sociopolitical subjectivities. Researchers and academics from the Global South and other developing spaces may find that the issues raised may resonate with their own collaborative, online international engagements as we try to speak into the bigger structures that we must consider when we engage in this work.

Language inclusion and neo-colonialism: The impacts of ethnolinguistic admission criteria at South African universities

Mbali Sunrise Dhlamini, Russell H Kaschula — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Languages in South Africa have always been employed as stimuli to negotiate boundaries of unity and segregation among South Africans. Likewise, universities established before, during, and post-apartheid times were instituted either as key instruments to contrive separation among South Africans or as symbols to mend the segregation walls. This article set out to examine language distribution at South African universities, the language admission criteria and their impacts in promoting language inclusion and social cohesion in Departments of African Languages in the post-apartheid era. IsiNguni language modules were used to contextualise the study. A qualitative research approach was employed to carry out the research, using the interview schedule as an instrument to collect data. The Ethnolinguistic Vitality Theory was used to underpin the study. The findings revealed that African languages were predominantly distributed based on their official status in the South African provinces, while Afrikaans and particularly English were promoted across the country. The grade 12 certificate was the common criterion that was employed to admit or reject potential students’ applications to Departments of African Languages based on the home languages studied in grade 12. To some extent, the distribution of South African languages and the language admission approach to Departments of African languages were found to maintain the dominance of certain languages and ethnolinguistic segregation in the country. The article advocates for the promotion of African languages at a national rather than provincial level in order to uproot the ethnolinguistic traces of the apartheid government at South African universities.

The use of Artificial Intelligence in English language assessment: Empirical evidence and future directions

Dennis Alonzo, Jan Michael Vincent Abril, Cherry Zin Oo — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly recognised as a useful tool for assessment, but its specific role in English language assessment remains unexplored. We conducted a scoping review of peer-reviewed studies published between 2011 and 2025, following the framework by Arksey and O’Malley (2005). Results show seven main ways AI is used in English assessment: generating test items, using chatbots for conversation practice, marking and scoring, supporting self-assessment, enabling adaptive testing, giving instant feedback, and recognising speech. AI helps make assessments more efficient, keeps students engaged, and supports more personalised learning. We also found that AI is helping teachers develop flexible teaching practices, meet standards, and manage assessments more effectively. This review highlights both the potential and the challenges of using AI in English language assessment and calls for more research to support its responsible and effective use in schools.

Whose metaphor is it anyway? Analysing AI metaphors from positionality and values of speaker and recipient

Yasser Atef, Maha Bali — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This article builds on our earlier work on metaphors of generative AI as a route to developing critical AI literacy (Gupta, et al., 2024). Using a duo-autoethnographic approach, we analyse metaphors we have encountered in workshops, classrooms, and informal conversations. We reflect on how our positionalities shape how we receive and interpret these metaphors. Where possible, we also consider the context and likely values of the speakers who used these metaphors, while recognising that our study does not include formal interviews and therefore cannot fully recover speakers’ values. Rather than theorising metaphors in abstract terms, we examine the ethical and affective dimensions of specific examples, including “AI is stupid” and “AI as cane.” Our analysis shows how such metaphors can reinforce or resist ableism, epistemic injustice, and uncritical adoption of AI. We conclude by suggesting classroom practices that invite students to surface and critically examine their own metaphors for AI.

Beyond empty signifiers: Reclaiming social justice as an academic pursuit in higher education

Rubby Dhunpath — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This paper critically examines the proliferation of terms such as “social justice” within higher education discourse, arguing that they often function as “empty signifiers”, concepts stripped of their theoretical depth and transformative potential. The paper uses a narrative approach to explore how these buzzwords can obscure, rather than illuminate, the path to genuine educational transformation. The analysis is grounded in a tripartite theoretical framework, combining Ernesto Laclau’s theory of empty signifiers, Nancy Fraser’s model of social justice, and the capabilities approach advanced by Amartya Sen. I invoke Joan Tronto's political ethic of care as essential to operationalising transformation, as a democratic practice involving attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness. I argue that a more robust and transformative decolonial praxis requires moving beyond superficial signifiers to a deeper engagement with epistemic justice informed by Southern epistemologies. The paper concludes that genuine transformation requires addressing the intersecting dimensions of maldistribution, misrecognition, and misrepresentation while centering the capabilities approach and an ethic of care in pedagogical practice.

Physics graduate preparedness: A human capabilities perspective

Bako Nyikun Audu, Honjiswa Conana, Delia Marshall — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In South Africa and globally, the preparedness of physics graduates for the workplace and societal challenges is increasingly prioritised. This study, framed by a human capabilities approach, explores physics students’ and graduates’ perceptions of the development of their graduate preparedness. Findings revealed various interconnected conversion factors that are seen to differently enable or hinder students’ ability to transform educational resources and opportunities into desired capabilities and functionings. These included personal factors such as motivation and computational skills; social factors such as teaching approach, opportunities for peer engagement inside and outside the classroom, and career guidance; and environmental factors related to the urban setting of the university. The study highlights implications for teaching and institutional arrangements, including more explicit focus on fostering desired graduate attributes, developing student voice, and enhancing career exposure. The study explores how universities could better equip physics graduates as critical citizens to advance individual and societal well-being.

Redesigning doctoral education in South Africa: The case for structured coursework

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

It is increasingly the norm to include coursework as part of the doctoral curriculum. In this paper, academics from six countries explore how structured coursework can enhance research preparation, build scholarly communities, and develop transferable professional skills, while raising concerns about maintaining flexibility and preserving research time. Every context brings its own histories, values, and norms and so comparing experiences runs the risk of ignoring national contexts and expectations; nonetheless, this international reflection can inform contextualised deliberations about the purpose and process of coursework. Importantly, we argue that reflections are needed about what the doctorate is for and how coursework might affect the achievement of these purposes. When implemented only with the aim of decreasing time-to-completion, coursework risks falling short of its transformative potential. For coursework to enhance doctoral education, it must attend to the fundamental purpose of contributing to the frontiers of knowledge and developing responsible, independent researchers.