ERIC Number: EJ1381318
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0258-2236
EISSN: EISSN-2519-593X
Beckoning a New Post-COVID Higher Education Engagement Agenda: Lessons from Nelson Mandela University COVID-19 Responses
Perspectives in Education, v41 n1 p3-17 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic set higher education institutions on an unprecedented path requiring of them to identify alternative strategies and implement various initiatives to sustain their academic projects. With the widespread devastation of the pandemic, the purpose of universities within their communities were again in the spotlight. A sensibility of the intertwinement between the local university and the community was also reemphasised in the pandemic's wake, with the recognition of COVID-19 as a crosscutting problem. This paper examines Nelson Mandela University's engagement initiatives during the pandemic to underline its fundamental strategic undertakings within its positioning as a "transformative, responsive university in service of society". Through an interpretive paradigm, the paper presents lessons from a qualitative, explorative case study inquiry of Nelson Mandela University reports during the pandemic. The findings indicate that the initiatives deployed by the university during the pandemic strengthened its overall community engagement strategy.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, COVID-19, Pandemics, Universities, Higher Education, School Community Relationship, Responses, School Community Programs, Partnerships in Education, Community Involvement, Community Needs, Educational Practices, Educational Change, Organizational Change, Program Effectiveness
University of the Free State Faculty of Education. P.O. Box 339, Bioemfontein 9300, South Africa. Tel: +27-51-401-2368; e-mail: PiE@ufs.ac.za; Web site: https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/pie/index
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A