A scholarly approach to student success in

Higher Education Volume 2

Transformative
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9781776304684

Chief editor: J Pool
Assistant editors: MM Fernandes-Martins, M Fourie

A scholarly approach

to student success in Higher Education

Volume 2:

Chief editor:

J Pool;

Assistant editors:

MM Fernandes-Martins;

M Fourie

Published by Axiom Academic Publishers, Potchefstroom, South Africa

Chief Editor: J Pool;

Assistant Editors: MM Fernandes-Martins; M Fourie

ISBN: 978-1-77630-468-4

This is an open access publication. Full text is available for download at:

https://store.it.si/za/

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HOW TO CITE:

Chapter Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. (2022). Chapter title. In Pool, J.,

Fernandes-Martins, M.M., & Fourie, M. 2022. A scholarly approach to student success in

Higher Education. Vol 2:. ISBN 978-1-77630-468-4

DISCLAIMER

Every effort has been made to contact and acknowledge all copyright holders. The content

of each chapter has been submitted to an iThenticate process. The Publisher does not take

responsibility for the choice of facts and opinions expressed in this book.

THIS BOOK HAS BEEN DOUBLE BLIND PEER REVIEWED

The publisher (Axiom Academic Publishers) certifies that each chapter in this book has

been individually double-blind peer reviewed. After an initial selection process, each

chapter was submitted to at least two national and/or international scholars in the

particular field.

Editors:

Chief Editor:

J Pool;

Assistant Editors:

MM Fernandes-Martins;

M Fourie

Quality, Academic & Research Integrity:

Zander Janse van Rensburg

Editorial Board:

Jako Olivier is a professor in Multimodal Learning at the North-West University

(NWU) and he holds the UNESCO Chair on Multimodal Learning and Open

Educational Resources. He obtained his PhD in 2011 in which he researched the

accommodation and promotion of multilingualism in schools through blended

learning. Before he joined the NWU as lecturer in 2010, he was involved in teaching

information technology and languages in schools in the United Kingdom and in

South Africa. From 2010 to 2015 he was a lecturer in the Faculty of Arts of the NWU

after being appointed as associate professor in the Faculty of Education in 2015.

During 2012 he was a guest lecturer at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. In 2018

he was promoted to full professor at the NWU. In 2018 he received the Emerging

Researcher Medal from the Education Association of South Africa and he is an NRF-

Members of the Editorial Board

rated researcher. His research is located within the NWU’s Research Unit for Self-

directed Learning. For more information, see: http://jako.nom.za/

Kasturi Behari-Leak – Is a professor and interim Director of Academic and

Professional Staff Development in the Centre for Higher Education Development at

UCT, Kasturi is passionate about working with academics at all stages of their

trajectories to support, enhance, deepen and transform the way teaching and

learning are conceptualised and practised in HE. My work in this area focuses on

the exploring the interplay between structure (national, institutional, departmental

and disciplinary) and culture and how this influences academics’ critical agency in

the interest of change. She is President of the Higher Education Learning and

Teaching Association of Southern Africa (HELTASA) and convenes a Staff Doctoral

Programme in HELTASA. She has been elected President-elect for ICED (2020-2021)

and President of ICED (2021-2023) and serves on the advisory committee for

GHEAR, a sub-committee of the World Universities Network. As co- chair of the

Curriculum Change Working Group at UCT, she facilitated discursive engagements

on curriculum change and decolonisation across the university. She is on editorial

boards for two international journals namely Teaching in Higher Education and

Teaching and Learning Inquiry and has herself published in the higher education

studies field.

Kristen Betts is a Clinical Professor in the School of Education at Drexel University.

She has over 20 years of experience teaching in higher education and serving in

administrative roles at public, private, and for-profit institutions. Dr Betts’ expertise

is in online and blended learning, curriculum and instructional design, and

evaluation. Her research focus is on Mind, Brain, and Education Science, pivotal

pedagogy, student retention, and faculty development. Dr Betts is a Fulbright

Specialist, Middle States Commission on Higher Education peer evaluator, and

reviewer for the Hong Kong Research Grants Council. Dr Betts is also an invited

keynote speaker nationally and internationally.

Members of the Editorial Board

iii

Juaneé Cilliers is the Head of the School of Built Environment, and Professor of

Urban Planning at the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building at the University

of Technology Sydney (Australia). She has 17+ years’ experience as Professional

Planner, with professional registrations from both the South African Council for

Planners (SACPLAN) and the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA). She is currently

appointed as Extraordinary Professor of Planning at the North-West University

(South Africa), following her former position as Head of Urban and Regional

Planning and Leader of the Research Program for Sustainable Planning,

Development and Implementation. Juaneé is a lifelong member of the International

Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP), serves on the Scientific Committee

of ISOCARP and was the first ISOCARP Cyber Agora Curator

(https://isocarp.org/about-cyber-agora/). She is a corporate member of the South

African Planning Institute, member of the Organisation for Women in Science in the

Developing World and member of the Carbon Leadership Forum. She holds a 4-year

professional Planning degree (B.Art et Scien) and Master’s in Planning degree

(M.Art et Scien), as well as Master’s in Economics degree (M.Com), and Doctoral

degree in Urban and Regional Planning. Other training completed include Corporate

Communications Training (NWU), Project Management Course (Potchefstroom

Business School), Sustainable Communities Course (Aalto University, Finland),

Bioeconomic Modelling of Natural Resource Use (ERSA, University of Cape Town),

Local Governance for rural development Course (Wageningen University, The

Netherlands) and the Sustainable Communities Course (University of Helsinki,

Finland). Between 2008 and 2015 she was also appointed as international

researcher at Wageningen University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands.To date

she has successfully supervised 84 final year research projects, 30 MSc students, 7

PhD students and 4 Post-Doctoral Fellows. She has published 52 journal papers, 70

conference papers, and 9 book chapters. In 2019 she was the recipient of the

National South African Teaching Award for Teaching Excellencein South Africa. She

was a finalist of the National Science and Technology Forum Awards and prize

winner at the Woman in Science Awards. In 2021 she received the North-West

University Award for Excellence in Community Engagement.

Members of the Editorial Board

Willem van Vollenhoven – With extensive experience of the teaching profession

for many years on school level; then since 2000 as lecturer and senior lecturer at

the University of Pretoria (UP) in South Africa, in Education Management and

Education Law as well as being actively involved in Open Distance Learning (ODL), I

joined the North West University (NWU) in 2009 as an Associate Professor to

nurture the challenges of Higher Education and ODL. During my time as lecturer, I

received annually excellent feedback from students and was referred to as the

model module in the whole program.

Since then I advanced to become coordinator of the academic function, supervising

a personnel corpse of 45 fellow academics in ODL in the Faculty of Education (FE).

In 2015 I was appointed as academic manager at the Unit for Open Distance

Learning (UODL) for the FE. My main function was to manage the 150 staff members

responsible for ODL modules and steer the 14 programs in the faculty that were

delivered by ODL mode to 30 000 students via different forms of blended learning

and ensured both quality of programs and excellent student experience. My task

included the promotion of the wide variety of continuing education that the FE

offered, to provide open access to adult and continuing education while ensuring

support to students to ensure a positive learning experience. I also had to negotiate

short courses with local departments, submit proposals and tenders to them,

negotiate program development with academics and the delivery of these

extended programs. The focus was on hands-on skills development that students

are practical ready for the challenges of their career.

From 1 April 2018 I was promoted as Chief Director at the NWU’s Center for

Teaching and Learning (CTL) reporting to the Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC):

Teaching and Learning. The Center’s tasks are to plan the NWU’s Teaching and

Learning (TL) as well as the Academic Performance Plan (APP) strategically in

collaboration with all Faculties and the Information Technology (IT) department to

ensure professional development and a career trajectory to all academics to

enhance themselves as University Teachers.

Members of the Editorial Board

Esmarie Strydom – Dr Esmarie is the Director for Special Projects and Research at

the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), North West University, Vanderbijlpark

Campus, South Africa.

A Scholarly Approach to Student Success in Higher Education Volume 2 is a research

book based on original research in the field of Higher Education enhancing theory

and practice. The overarching theme for this publication relates to higher education

pedagogic best practices. The chapters encapsulate empirical and conceptual

research guided by theoretical frameworks.

This scientifically-based publication is underpinned by the underlying approaches

for the advancement of scholarship in higher education. The contribution of the

book offers original research. The content is aimed at academics as university

teachers in the field of scholarship of teaching and learning. The work of an

academic involves being a teacher and a researcher; teaching must be research-

informed. Good teaching is grounded in a deep understanding of a discipline: the

basis of academics’ work is knowledge, with their identities embedded in discipline

as knowledge learners, producers and disseminators.

This publication places emphasis on transformative curricula and pedagogies

applicable to enhancing quality teaching and learning informed by a scholarly

approach towards student success, as envision by the Department of Higher

Education and Training (DHET) of South Africa. A Scholarly Approach to Student

Success in Higher Education Vol 2 fosters a space for academics to share developed

learning and teaching practices and research toward student success. There are

chapters that address the clear inequalities that persist in HE and building quality

towards student access with success. Curriculum responsiveness pertaining to

decolonisation, sustainable development and climate change, and the need for

entrepreneurship development is also evident in the chapters.

A Call for Chapters was announced using different channels such as Higher

Education Learning and Teaching Association of Southern Africa (HELTASA) News

Research Justification

vii

and various inter-university communication platforms. A substantial number of

manuscripts were submitted by local, national and international scholars. Under

the auspices of the editors, assisted by selected national and international

members of the editorial board, all of the manuscripts were scrutinised.

Those manuscripts that did apply to the standards and foci set for publication, went

through a double-blind peer-review as well as an authentication process in order to

secure the fact that the content was not plagiarised. An academic integrity

specialist was appointed to analyse TurnItIn reports. Chapters were also language

edited and corrections were made by the authors accompanied by a change-log

which was screened by the editors. In cases where a discrepancy of the outcome

from reviewers was reported, the chapter was submitted to a scholar of standing

in the field in order for him/her to act as an arbiter to make a final decision

regarding the merits of a particular chapter. All of the reports are currently

preserved in the offices of the publisher.

A Scholarly Approach to Student Success in Higher Education Volume 2 adds to the

established body of knowledge on the scholarship of teaching in Higher Education

in South Africa. The relevance, nature, and novelty of this book publication is seated

in its contribution to a scholarly approach to student success.

Chief Editor:

J Pool;

Assistant Editors:

MM Fernandes-Martins;

M Fourie

viii

As I go through individual chapters, I celebrate and become inspired by the

relevance and timeliness, the level of innovation and the creative responses to

current debates on Higher Education teaching and learning. This, in a nutshell, is

the core characteristic of the entire book.

Not only does each chapter challenge university teachers to revisit the approach to

thinking, conceptualising, and designing teaching and learning opportunities, the

authors have also, re-directed conversations at institutional leadership on the

‘universities we need’. Individual chapters are penned with precision, theorised

sufficiently, and data generation strategies used demonstrate high-level scholarly

repertoire fitting respectability from peers. The auto-reflexive tone embedded in

the book, accompanied by a deliberate commitment to self-critique, warrants

attention from researchers committed to addressing epistemic access, academics

dedicated to inducting the next generation into their disciplines, academic

developers leading research and innovation in design of responsive curricula and

participatory pedagogies, postgraduate students producing new knowledge, and

teaching and learning leadership in higher education.

The high-level conceptual and theoretical engagement characteristic of each

chapter, with simultaneous illustrative applications to ‘day-to-day’ teaching and

learning engagements, both attest to each author’s reputable standing in their

fields of study and intellectual stature. Moreover, it is encouraging to note the level

of passion, commitment, and zeal to matters of teaching and learning as well as

assessment by authors from academic disciplines. In addition to being established

researchers and postgraduate supervisors, academics whose work is already

making ‘an in-road’ in the international arena, these contributors to the book

demonstrate an outstanding commitment to the teaching and scholarship of their

disciplines. To have professors and senior academics from various disciplines across

Notes on Contributors

faculties as well as senior academic developers reporting on outstanding research

findings on teaching and learning in one book is a rare occurrence within the

academy. In this book there are even instances where both senior academics and

academic developers are co-authoring a chapter, enabling disciplinary expertise

and higher education studies cooperation in enhancing insight into teaching and

learning for access, success and throughput.

In my capacity as an NRF rated researcher and one of the directors at the Center

for Teaching and Learning who opened the NWU Teaching and Learning Conference

in 2021 (where most of the chapters in this book were presented), I had the

privilege to review some of the chapters. Drawing from the time I spent reviewing

these chapters, I can safely say that the effort put forward by the authors indicates

their clear commitment to the scholarship of teaching and learning. One

outstanding fascination for me is the way slide presentations delivered at the

Conference were developed into extended, well-thought-out chapters worthy, not

only of readership by colleagues at the North-West University but all university

teachers, academic developers, researchers, and postgraduate students within and

outside the borders of South Africa. Each chapter sets the context for further and

deeper reflection on current teaching and learning practices in Higher Education.

Among other things, these include conceptualisations of transformation and

decolonisation of the curriculum, the contextualisation of assessment practices,

complexities with online-hybrid teaching and learning design, and epistemic access

issues as they relate to embedding disciplinary ethos into mainstream

undergraduate pedagogy and postgraduate supervision.

While the NWU T&L Conference created an opportunity for academics and

academic developers to present ideas towards developing insight, share learning

and work towards consensus-based approaches to teaching and learning best-

practice, the commitment evinced in each chapter leaves the reader with a

coherent discourse core to the academic project. Each chapter enables rich

knowledge exchange, making it possible for changes in our thinking about teaching

and learning to occur and revises attitudes towards students. My ‘one take-away’

Foreword

from the book is commitment by each author to critical self-reflection, a ‘way of

being’ we all continue to develop into as we navigate the ever-changing knowledge

construction terrain.

Prof Emmanuel M. Mgqwashu

Director: Faculty Teaching and Learning Support

Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL)

Contributor: A critical engagement with theological education in Africa: A South

African Perspective (2022). AOSIS Scholarly Books. OASIS: Cape Town.

Co-author: Rural Transitions to Higher Education in South Africa: Decolonial

Perspectives (2021). Routledge: London.

Notes on Contributors

Editors

Jessica Pool – Chief Editor

ORCid id: 0000-0002-6839-4419; jessica.pool@nwu.ac.za

Dr Jessica Pool is a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Health Professions Education

(CHPE) in the Faculty of Health Sciences. In her role as Senior Lecturer, she is

responsible for coordination and implementation of initiatives including the

development of a scholarly approach to teaching and learning (SoTL), enabling

discipline/subject-based teaching-focused communities of practice, promoting

research-led teaching development workshops and promoting knowledge

production and knowledge sharing about university teaching and learning. She has

completed her PhD in blended learning, and her research interests include the

development, implementation and evaluation of blended learning in a self-directed

learning environment. More recently, her research focus has shifted to the

development of academics as university teachers. She is the primary investigator

in a registered SoTL project (Exploring the role of SoTL in enhancing professional

identity of academics as university teachers) in which she is specifically exploring

the role of SoTL in developing the professional academic identity of academics as

university teachers. Publications include book chapters, refereed journal articles,

non-refereed journal articles, reports, and book reviews. She is also actively

involved as reviewer for conference abstracts and proceedings, and as keynote

speaker. She is the chief editor for the previous book publication: A Scholarly

Approach to Student Success in Higher Education vol 1.

mailto:jessica.pool@nwu.ac.za

Notes on Contributors

xii

M. Manuela Fernandes-Martins - Assistant Editor

11781610@nwu.ac.za

Dr Manuela Fernandes-Martins is a senior academic developer at the Centre for

Teaching and Learning (CTL), at the North-West University, Vanderbijlpark Campus.

She is currently the coordinator of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

project, an activity funded from the University Capacity Development Grant

(UCDG). The purpose of the SoTL funds is to provide academics and professional

staff with an opportunity to research their own teaching-learning praxis in a

scientific manner in order to improve teaching and learning as well as to expand

their research and deliver research outputs.

Manuela is also the programme coordinator of the NWU’s annual Teaching and

Learning Conference as well as the Novice Teacher Awards coordinator part of the

NWU’s Teaching Awards programme. She is also the Quality coordinator for CTL,

liaising with the Quality Enhancement Office, having participated in the

coordination of soft reviews for support departments and in Internal Programme

Evaluations (IPEs) of academic programmes as well as taking part in the Institutional

Audit process. Manuela was also the coordinator of the Induction Programme for

Academics; an opportunity aimed at enhancing NWU academic staff as university

teachers, as part of their academic professional development.

Manuela is an accredited assessor and qualified in learning material design and

development. She has also worked as an editorial assistant, lectured, and facilitated

workshops for academics on lesson planning and for students on study skills; she

also reviews for journals, and presents at national and international conferences.

Manuela is the assistant editor for the previous book publication: A Scholarly

Approach to Student Success in Higher Education, Vol 1.

Manuela obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) cum laude in

Senior Phase and Further Education and Training (FET), in English and Computer

Science (2006), in South Africa. She also completed a Foundation Teachers of

English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Certificate (2007) at the Royal

mailto:11781610@nwu.ac.za

Notes on Contributors

xiii

School of Languages, in Portugal. In 2015, as a PhD student, she joined the NWU’s

Understanding and Processing Language in Complex Settings (UPSET) research

focus area, in Applied Linguistics: English as a Second Language (ESL).

Publication: Pool, J. and Fernandes-Martins, M. 2019. A Scholarly Approach to

Student Success in Higher Education. ISBN 978-1-990924-01-9

Publication: Pool, J., Fernandes-Martins, M.M., and Fourie, M. 2022. A scholarly

approach to student success in Higher Education. Vol 2: ISBN 978-1-77630-468-4

Mariëtte Fourie - Assistant Editor

ORCid Id: 0000-0001-8283-775X; Mariette.Fourie@nwu.ac.za

Dr Mariëtte Fourie, with well-established knowledge, experience, and expertise in

quantitative research design (including mixed method research), is the Quality

Manager for all academic programs and offerings at the North-West University in

South Africa. Dr Fourie is an affiliated researcher of the Education, Learning and

Brain Sciences (E-LaBS) in the School of Education, Drexel University, and was

appointed as subject matter expert for Drexel University in Mind, Brain and

Education sciences and the Learning Sciences during 2020 and 2021. She assisted

in developing various course content in the Higher Education Leadership Program.

Dr Fourie has presented numerous professional development workshops on

teaching, learning, and assessment nationally and internationally. Dr Fourie’s

expertise further includes Higher Education Research and Development,

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), and the Continuous Professional

Development (CPD) of faculty. Her DEd study developed the MEIPAC (Model to

engender information processing ability in the classroom) and included the

theoretical frameworks of Positive Psychology, Cognition, and Educational

Neuroscience. As part of her master’s degree in Educational Psychology, she

developed the SELOC (Teacher Efficacy and Locus of Control Scale). Dr Fourie

retains more than 20 years’ experience in education and is an international

facilitator for the Online Learning Consortium. Dr Fourie’s immersed research

interest enables her to continuously contribute to the interrelated and

mailto:Mariette.Fourie@nwu.ac.za

Notes on Contributors

xiv

interdisciplinary fields of educational neuroscience, educational psychology, and

neuropsychology. Dr Fourie regards herself as a critical realist, mapping the

ontological character of social reality. Her professional character portrays a strong

disposition towards social justice and transformation in higher education. Her

research is further inspired by the epistemic becoming of students in higher

education. Her current research focuses on the provision of epistemological access

in HE disciplines focusing on epistemic cognition and assessment. Dr Fourie is

rendering support and professional statistical analysis to postgraduate students

and academics, as well as national and international studies for over 10 years. Dr

Fourie is a co-investigator of five international studies led by the Online Learning

Consortium, as well as Drexel University, in the capacity of a quantitative research

expert.

Zander Janse van Rensburg - Quality, Academic & Research Integrity

ORCid id: 0000-0001-9822-8860; Zander.JanseVanRensburg@nwu.ac.za

Zander Janse van Rensburg is a lecturer in the North-West University’s (NWU)

Academic Literacy Department (South Africa), where he contributes to the

Institution’s academic writing development strategy. In accordance with this

strategy, he also established the NWU Writing Centre in 2014, where he still serves

as manager. In 2019, the Registrar appointed him as the university’s subject

specialist on plagiarism. His work, in this regard, focuses on forensic investigations

into misconduct at all levels of academic practice. For these purposes, he has also

led the development of specialised forensic software aimed at investigating various

forms of academic misconduct. Further research interests include philosophical

inquiry and, more specifically, hermeneutic phenomenology.

mailto:Zander.JanseVanRensburg@nwu.ac.za

Notes on Contributors

Contributors

Yolande Heymans

ORCid id: 0000-0003-4459-2266; yolande.heymans@nwu.ac.za

Dr Heymans obtained her PhD in Education Management at the NWU in 2016. In

her dissertation, she focused on mentoring school leaders in mentoring

programmes. She also obtained a Post-graduate Diploma in Higher Education (cum

laude) in 2017 and her MHSc in Health Professions Education (cum laude) in 2021.

In October 2017, Dr Heymans was appointed as Senior Lecturer in the Centre for

Health Professions Education (CHPE). In the CHPE, she is responsible for the

teaching of a second-year, fully-aligned module presented on all three campuses of

the NWU. She also works closely with lecturing staff interested in enhancing the

quality of their teaching and learning and researching their teaching practices

through SoTL research. Her research focuses on health professions education in the

higher education context, with specific reference to the Scholarship of Teaching and

Learning, professional staff development, enhancing student engagement, large-

class teaching, interprofessional collaborative learning, and team-based learning

(TBL).

Christmal Christmals

Christmal.Christmals@nwu.ac.za

Dr Christmal Christmals is a young scholar in Health Professions Education and

health workforce policy niche areas. Dr Christmals is a consultant for the World

Health Organization (WHO) on health workforce education and policy. Dr

Christmals currently serves as the Chair of the Health Professions Education

Scientific committee and a member of the Human Research Ethics Committee

(HREC) of the Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University. He is responsible

for postgraduate research supervision and management. Prior to joining the North-

West University, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of

Science and Technology-National Research Foundation funded South African

mailto:yolande.heymans@nwu.ac.za
mailto:Christmal.Christmals@nwu.ac.za

Notes on Contributors

xvi

Research Chair Initiative (SARChI)-Chair for Research on Health Workforce for

Equity and Quality, Centre for Health Policy, Wits School of Public Health where he

worked on a comparative analysis of health professions leadership and governance

between South Africa and Ghana. Dr Christmals completed his Masters and PhD in

at the University of Witwatersrand were he developed a Concept-based curriculum

framework for Advanced Practice Nursing in sub-Saharan Africa. Christmals is an

honorary lecturer at the department of Nursing Education, Wits University.

Musara Lubombo

ORCid id: 0000-0003-1911-3059; 40663256@nwu.ac.za

Dr Musara Lubombo is a postgraduate research advising specialist at North-West

University, Vanderbijlpark campus, and honorary lecturer of Development

Communication at University of KwaZulu-Natal. His research challenges normative

thinking in knowledge construction, and is sympathetic to a humanising pedagogy

in postgraduate studies. Dr Lubombo has published articles on how Ubuntu can be

usefully deployed in addressing Africa’s social development challenges, especially

in the areas of health, politics and now higher education.

Susan Geertshuis

ORCid id: 0000-0002-9417-572X; s.geertshuis@auckland.ac.nz

Susan is Professor of Lifelong Learning at the Graduate School of Management

where she teaches on the MBA programme. Previously she was Director of Learning

and Teaching for the Business School and prior to that Director of the University's

Centre for Continuing Education. Before joining the University of Auckland Susan

was Professor of Organisational Studies, Director of the Centre for Learning and

Innovation in Organisations, Director of the Centre for Learning Research, Research

Director of the Centre for Learning Development and Deputy Director of the Health

Services Research Unit at UK Universities. She researches learning and teaching in

higher education and has an interest in student transitions and wellbeing.

mailto:40663256@nwu.ac.za
mailto:s.geertshuis@auckland.ac.nz

Notes on Contributors

xvii

Susan Benvenuti

ORCid id: 0000-0003-1434-0404; susan.Benvenuti@wits.ac.za

Susan Benvenuti is Head of Academic Quality Assurance at the Graduate School of

Business Administration at the University of the Witwatersrand. She was

previously, the Assistant Dean for Teaching and Learning, & Academic Development

and Strategy in the Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management (CLM) at the

University of the Witwatersrand, and Head of the CLM Teaching and Learning

Centre, which she was instrumental in establishing. She is currently a TAU Fellow

(2021/22) and won the Wits Vice Chancellor's Team Teaching Award in 2020 with

Agata MacGregor. Her academic discipline is Information Systems with a specific

focus on Systems Analysis and Design. Her research interests include academic

development and support, lifelong learning, self-directed learning, learner-centred

assessment, pedagogy and curriculum innovation, writing development,

communities of practice, personal development (portfolios), educational

development, case study-based teaching and learning, teamwork and cooperative

learning.

Agata MacGregor

ORCid id: 0000-0002-9453-8666; Agata.MacGregor@wits.ac.za

Agata MacGregor has a MCom in Insurance and Risk Management as well as a

PGDipE(HE) in the field of Higher Education. Agata is currently registered for her

PhD in the School of Education at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits),

Johannesburg, South Africa. She is a lecturer and Honours Coordinator in the

Insurance and Risk Management Division in the School of Business Sciences (SBS)

at Wits. She supervises Honours and Masters students by research in the field of

Insurance and Risk Management. She teaches aspects of the economic theory of

insurance as well as multiple areas in short term insurance. Agat is the Chair of the

SBS Academic Integrity Committee and serves on a number of other committees

including: Teaching and Learning Committee and the Faculty Postgraduate Writing

Committee. Agata was part of the team who won the Wits Vice Chancellor's Team

mailto:susan.Benvenuti@wits.ac.za
mailto:Agata.MacGregor@wits.ac.za

Notes on Contributors

xviii

Teaching Award in 2020 for innovative assessment practices. Her research interests

include specialised liability risks and insurance regulation. In addition, she has

research interests in social theories of learning in higher education, assessment-as-

learning, curriculum studies and Legitimation Code Theory (LCT).

Danie de Klerk

ORCid id: 0000-0001-8051-0833; Danie.deKlerk@wits.ac.za

Danie de Klerk is the Assistant Dean for Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of

Commerce, Law, and Management (CLM) at the University of the Witwatersrand,

and Head of the CLM Teaching and Learning Centre. His research revolves around

learning and teaching in higher education, viewed through a Social/Critical Realist

lens. Danie’s areas of focus/interest include: academic advising and advising

practices for South African contexts, student success and support, critical self-

reflection as a tool for enabling professional learning, academic literacies, and the

use of data analytics to inform and enhance student success. Danie was part of the

team who won the Wits Vice Chancellor's Team Teaching Award in 2021. He has

been working in the South African higher education sector since 2007.

Andre Bechuke

ORCid id: 0000-0003-0034-0171, 22037977@nwu.ac.za

Dr Andre L. Bechuke is a Senior Curriculum Specialist at the unit for Qualifications

and Academic Programme Planning (Q&APP) at the North West University. He

previously served as a Curriculum Designer at the Centre for Teaching and Learning

(CTL), Unit for Curriculum Design and Development, North West University,

Potchefstroom-South Africa. He was also as a lecturer for Professional Studies in

the School for Teacher Education and Training, Faculty of Education, North-West

University from 2010–2015. He was a postdoctoral fellow under the advisor-ship of

Prof Oduaran Akpovire of the Faculty of Education, North West University for two

years (2016-2017). He obtained his BEd in Curriculum Studies and Teaching from

the University of Buea, Cameroon and Doctor of Philosophy in Educational

Management from the North-West University. He has over 12 years secondary/high

mailto:Danie.deKlerk@wits.ac.za
mailto:22037977@nwu.ac.za

Notes on Contributors

xix

schools and university teaching experience. His research interest includes learner

behaviour management and curriculum development and transformation

(Planning, design, implementation and management) and higher education studies.

Raymond Emekako

ORCid id: 0000-0002-1236-6662; 25540106@nwu.ac.za

Dr Raymond Emekako is currently appointed as a Senior Academic Developer at the

Directorate for Faculty teaching and Learning Support at CTL coordinating three

programmes: pedagogy, faculty awards and postgraduate support for enhanced

throughput (UCDP funded) as of 2020-21. The coordination of these programmes

and projects is timely at a moment the Centre is going through transformation in

respect of how staff are positioned, how programmes are redefined to be informed

by the principles of academic development and research and how equity

considerations are provided on resources. All in all, how impact is measured against

goals and efforts. In the pedagogy programme, we provide support to issues that

arise from an internal and external programme review and challenges raised under

the Faculty Teaching and Learning Plans across faculties and support are provided

that are research-driven with a team of academic developers and advisors. The

Faculty Awards is a national and institutional requirement that rewards excellent

teachers in higher education and in the context of NWU disciplinary excellent

teaching are acknowledged and used as a form of evaluative pedagogy. The

postgraduate support programme is dedicated to pipeline students and particularly

blacks and female students. Pipeline students are those who have spent above the

time required to complete a degree or students who have been tracked and

identified with being “at-risk” at a particular juncture in their research studies.

Activities are supported through workshops, walk-ins and writing camps to increase

quality throughput and better their studying experiences. Academic development

in the pedagogy is designed around students and academic staff. The Faculty

Awards is purely of academic participation while the postgraduate support is for

Honours, Masters and PhD registered students.

mailto:25540106@nwu.ac.za

Notes on Contributors

Prior to this, Raymond coordinated the Faculty Teams and Leads for CTL and offered

workshops for academic staff and students.

A new direction is to be led by current research data in academic development and

to publish these data in local and international journals as well as present such

findings in teaching and learning and research spaces. Raymond presented in 2020

and 2021 on impact of one-on-one academic advising on students’ academic

development and also on links between asynchronous teaching practice and WILS

and its implication for curriculum development in higher education South Africa.

These papers are already accepted for publication in South African journals. Current

work is now underway on pedagogies associated with postgraduate research

support and teaching awards.

Published works in journals and book chapters are in the area of learner discipline,

curriculum management and leadership in basic and higher education teaching and

learning. Ongoing serial work is on advancing the teacher education WILS practice

in South Africa, future pedagogies for today’s higher education with focus to

learning, teaching and supervision.

Dr Raymond is a full member of Microsoft, Institute of Information Technology

Professionals South Africa and the Strategic Management Society of Nigeria and

served as an executive member in HELTASA for one-term as special projects

coordinator and convener for SoTL.

Hamid H. Kazeroony

ORCid id: 0000-0002-0961-1364 ; hamid.kazeroony@nwu.ac.za

Hamid H. Kazeroony is Extraordinary Professor at North-West University Business

School in South Africa, has taught in various executive and international programs

and is currently a Senior Contributing faculty at Walden University, Ph.D.

Management Program, and Professor at Minnesota State. He has published widely

on issues relating to management education, research methods, and responsible

management. He is a frequent presenter for doctoral seminars in Europe and Africa.

He is currently serving as European Academy of Management Board member.

mailto:hamid.kazeroony@nwu.ac.za

Notes on Contributors

xxi

Yvonne Du Plessis

ORCid id: 0000-0002-6900-1664 ; yvonne.duplessis@nwu.ac.za

Yvonne Du Plessis is a Full Professor at the North-West University Business School

in South Africa where she is the program manager for the NWU Business School's

Internationalization and their African footprint strategy. She specialises in project

leadership and organizational behaviour in multi-cultural contexts and in project

management. She has been involved in Ph.D. programs since 2004 as program

manager, lecturer, advisor, and promoter. She has published widely and has been

a promoter and mentor for many Ph.D. graduates from Africa, Europe, and Asia.

Karen Puren

ORCid id: 0000-0003-3163-0024; karen.puren@nwu.ac.za

Karen Puren (PhD, MURP, B. Arch (Stud)) is senior lecturer and chair of the subject

group Urban and Regional Planning within the School of Geo and Spatial Sciences

at the North West University (NWU), South Africa. Karen is a professional registered

planner at the South African Council for Planners (SACPLAN), member of the South

African Planning Institute (SAPI), member of the Golden Key Honour Society,

member of the Editorial Board of the Town and Regional Planning Journal and

director of Heritage Potchefstroom. Karen has twenty years experience in spatial

planning education and approach teaching from a social constructivist perspective.

She has supervised more than 100 mini-dissertations, 20 Masters student and five

PhD students. She has published widely and delivered oral and poster presentations

at numerous international conferences. Her research focus areas include urban

design (with emphasis on place-making and sense of place), community

engagement (with emphasis on public participation), qualitative research in spatial

planning and transdisciplinary research.

mailto:yvonne.duplessis@nwu.ac.za
mailto:karen.puren@nwu.ac.za

Notes on Contributors

xxii

Ernst Drewes

ORCid id: 0000-0003-4094-4922; ernst.drewes@nwu.ac.za

Ernst Drewes is a professional, registered Urban and Regional Planner with 27 years'

experience in the industry. He specialises in strategic spatial frameworks, property

development and project management and obtained the degrees: B. Art et Scien.

(Urban and Regional Planning), M. Art et Scien. (Regional Planning), and Ph.D

(Regional Planning). He is member of the South African Council for Planners

(SACPLAN); the South African Planning Institute (SAPI) and the International Society

for Urban and Regional Planners (ISOCARP). Ernst is also an accredited commercial

mediator specialising in property development mediation. He has been appointed

as a lecturer at the North-West University for the past 20 years and is a rated

researcher (C3) with the National Research Foundation (SA). Of late, he has co-

authored the only book on spatial planning legislation in SA, i.e. SPLUMA: a practical

guide.

Selna Cornelius

ORCid id: 0000-0001-8621-5130; selna.cornelius@nwu.ac.za

Selna Cornelius (B.Art et Scien, M.Sc) is a lecturer in Urban and Regional Planning,

employed at the North West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa since 2009.

Following the completion of her undergraduate degree in 2006, she worked for two

years as a development economist at Urban-Econ Development Economists,

Pretoria. During this period of employment the developmental challenges within

informal settlements of South Africa captured her interest. This prompted her

current PhD research, exploring the notion of employing alternative participatory

planning methods in South African unplanned settlements. Her research focuses on

participatory and community-based planning within an African Planning context,

with co-production and insurgent planning counting amongst her recent research

interests.

mailto:ernst.drewes@nwu.ac.za
mailto:selna.cornelius@nwu.ac.za

Notes on Contributors

xxiii

Jako Viviers

ORCid id: 0000-0001-8475-4245; jako.viviers@nwu.ac.za

Jako Viviers (B.Sc, B.Sc Hons, M.TRP) is a lecturer in urban and regional planning

within the School of Geo and Spatial Sciences at the North West University (NWU),

South Africa since mid-2015, following a 25-year stint as a private practitioner. He

completed his master’s degree (cum laude) at the Free State University. His current

PhD research interest places emphasis on urban design, new urbanism, green

urbanism, new ruralism and multifunctionality in planning and he since published

in the field. He serves on the academic advisory board of the Department Urban

and Regional Planning, Free State University and on two Municipal Planning

Tribunals. He has been awarded the ‘Professional Excellence Award’ by the South

African Council for Planners.

Nike Jacobs

ORCid id: 0000-0002-8189-0695; nikesjacobs@gmail.com

Nike Jacobs is currently a PhD candidate at Urban and Regional Planning, North-

West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa. Her areas of interest include

planning education, research methodology, quality of life, sustainable planning,

and spatial regeneration. For her master’s dissertation she studied the use of

nature-based solutions in the Global South from an urban planning perspective and

her current research explores conflicting rationalities regarding quality of life in the

South African urban context. In terms of planning education, she has assisted in

module development for an undergraduate planning course and has lectured the

course for a semester as a temporary lecturer.

Adri Du Toit

ORCid id: 0000-0002-3354-6830; dutoit.adri@nwu.ac.za

Dr Adri Du Toit specialises in teacher education and curriculum development,

preparing Consumer Studies and Technology teachers at the Faculty of Education

of the North-West University. She focuses on developing entrepreneurship

mailto:jako.viviers@nwu.ac.za
mailto:nikesjacobs@gmail.com
mailto:dutoit.adri@nwu.ac.za

Notes on Contributors

xxiv

education at school level and has published and presented numerous articles on

research regarding a range of pedagogical and curriculum issues in her specialist

subject fields, while maintaining a focus on entrepreneurship education. Dr Du Toit

enjoys collaborating with researchers from across the globe but particularly with

academics that share the challenges and delights of developing education on the

African continent.

Yolandi M. Coetser

ORCid iD: 0000-0002-8571-7590; yolandi.coetser@nwu.ac.za

Dr Yolandi M. Coetser is a senior lecturer in Philosophy at the North-West

University. She completed her PhD in Philosophy at the University of Johannesburg

in 2018. Her research interests are environmental philosophy and ethics. She has

also worked on issues relating to the philosophy of education. Having joined the

NWU in 2020, she is a member of the Social Transformation focus area as well as

the Institute for Contemporary Ethics. She has attended numerous local, regional

and international conferences.

Jean du Toit

ORCid id: 0000-0002-5297-8241; jean.dutoit@nwu.ac.za

Dr Jean du Toit is a senior lecturer in Philosophy from the North-West University.

He completed his PhD in Philosophy in 2018, and his areas of specialization include

Phenomenology (Merleau-Ponty) and Philosophy of Technology. A number of

articles have been written on these topics, and he has guest edited special issues

for the SAJP, Acta Academica, and IPJP. He is a part of the Social Transformation

focus area at the NWU and is a member of the Institute for Contemporary Ethics.

He is also involved in the inter-university Afro-fascism group, as well as the South

African society for Critical Theory.

mailto:yolandi.coetser@nwu.ac.za
mailto:jean.dutoit@nwu.ac.za

Notes on Contributors

xxv

Mariska Nel

ORCid id: 0000-0001-7130-5803; mariska.nel@nwu.ac.za

Mariska Nel is the subject leader and senior lecturer in Academic Literacy at the

North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus. She obtained her PhD degree in

2018 from the NWU, researching authorship identification on Afrikaans microblog

entries. She obtained her MA degree in 2014, also at the NWU. Mariska's research

interests include Academic Literacy: Multimodality and blended learning, academic

writing, corpus linguistics, and social linguistics – forensic linguistics.

Gert von Benecke

ORCid id: 0000-0003-3480-8801; 23227389@nwu.ac.za

Gert von Benecke is a senior lecturer at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-

West University (NWU). He holds the Chartered Accountant (CA (SA)) designation

and a Master of Commerce (MCom) in Accountancy (Accounting Education),

awarded with distinction. His research interest and passion revolves around

assessment and the fairness thereof. He has more than 10 years lecturing

experience encompassing Financial Accounting, Internal Auditing and Taxation. He

has published in peer-reviewed books.

Surika van Rooyen

ORCid id: 0000-0002-0601-1371; surika.vanrooyen@nwu.ac.za

Surika van Rooyen is an associate professor at the Potchefstroom Campus of the

North-West University (NWU). She holds the Chartered Accountant (CA (SA))

designation and a PhD in Accountancy (Accounting Education). Her research

interest is Accounting Education. She has more than 20 years lecturing experience

in Financial Management. She has published articles in peer-reviewed journals,

authored chapters in academic text books and successfully supervised/co-

supervised MCom students.

mailto:mariska.nel@nwu.ac.za
mailto:23227389@nwu.ac.za
mailto:surika.vanrooyen@nwu.ac.za

Notes on Contributors

xxvi

Arona Dison

ORCid id: 0000-0002-0325-4140; Arona Dison, adison@uwc.ac.za

Dr Arona Dison is Coordinator of the Writing Centre and Teaching and Learning

Specialist in the Directorate of Learning, Teaching and Student Success at the

University of the Western Cape (UWC). As Teaching and Learning Specialist she

teaches on professional development courses for lecturers. She also teaches on the

Inter-institutional Postgraduate Diploma Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

(PGDip TL HE). She has 28 years experience of working in academic development

with students and staff in Higher Education. She graduated with a Doctorate in

Higher Education studies from UWC in 2007 and her thesis was on Research

Capacity Development of Individuals in Three University Research Centres. Her

research interests include academic literacies, political ethics of care, writing

centres, formative feedback, feedback literacy and professional development of

academic staff.

Karen Collett

ORCid id: 0000-0002-0257-2083; kcollett@uwc.ac.za

Dr Karen Collett is a senior lecturer in the discipline of school leadership and

management in the Educational Studies Department at the University of the

Western Cape. For the last twenty nine years she has worked in the area of school

and teacher development through NGO's and HEI’s in South African and Namibia.

She has a particular interest in teacher well-being, school leadership development

and the development of schools as thinking and learning organisations. She was the

South African coordinator and co-initiator of an Erasmus Plus partnership focused

on teacher well-being and language diversity in collaboration with partners in HEI's

and schools in Norway, Denmark and Ireland 2016-2019. Her current research

interests include the use of multi-modal pedagogies and on-line technology to

support teaching, learning and assessment and the development of student

academic literacies, as well as curricular leadership and organisational learning

practices. In 2017 she was awarded the Faculty and University “Excellence in

mailto:adison@uwc.ac.za
mailto:kcollett@uwc.ac.za

Notes on Contributors

xxvii

Teaching and Learning” awards and is a Teaching Advancement at Universities

(TAU) fellow.

Irene Nyamu

ORCid id: 0000-0002-7663-8356; irenenyamu@gmail.com

Ms Irene Nyamu trained as a teacher at Kenyatta University. She undertook

postgraduate studies in education (M.Ed, 1997) at Kenyatta University and

Development Studies at the Institute of Social Studies at Erasmus University in

Netherlands. Her MA was in Social Policy Development with a specialization in

children and youth, 2014). The training sparked her passion for working with

children and young people. She challenged this passion into teaching at secondary

and higher education levels, conducting training on various development issues,

community empowerment of self-help groups, children’s clubs and grassroots

organizations. She has also managed various development projects that focused on

children’s rights and protection, the right to education, gender mainstreaming,

reproductive health and organizational development. She worked with Plan

International Kenya as a Program Manager (5 years); Kenyatta University as a

Graduate Assistant (3 years); Childline Kenya as the Executive Director for 8 years

during which time she led the establishment of the first 24 hours national child

helpline in Kenya. She remains an active associate researcher at the Women

Educational Researchers of Kenya (WERK). In Addition, she has been involved in

various policy and advocacy initiatives led by civil society both in Kenya and within

the African region. She is currently enrolled for PhD in Development Studies at the

University of the Western Cape where she has also been engaged in teaching and

tutoring of masters and undergraduate students. Between 2019-2020 she worked

at the Writing Centre as a writing and academic literacies tutor. She combines her

academic training with extensive development experience to engage in action

research, teaching and policy analysis work.

mailto:irenenyamu@gmail.com

Notes on Contributors

xxviii

Timalizge Zgambo

ORCid id: 0000-0002-4499-6052; llizye122@gmail.com

Ms Timalizge Zgambo is an associate lecturer at the University of the Western Cape.

She holds a Master's in Public Administration, Hons in Public policy and

Administration and a Bachelor of Social Work. Her field of study is Public Policy and

Social Science research, with a focus on social construction and policy change.

Timalizge has published a chapter in "The Routledge Handbook of African

Demography”. She has worked in both the public and private sector for 7 years.

Christo J. Els

ORCid id: 0000-0003-0895-870X; christoels117@gmail.com

Christo is a researcher and lecturer in the School of Psycho-Social Education and the

Research Unit Self-Directed Learning on the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-

West University. His research focuses on human development through technology-

integrated learning, which findings are reported in more than 40 National and

International research publications. Christo participated in reporting the findings of

the NRF-funded SITES2006 research module that compared ICT pedagogical

practices in Science and Mathematics classrooms across 22 participating education

systems Worldwide. In 2009, Christo received a Best Paper Award at the

International Symposium on Engineering Education and Educational Technologies

in Orlando, Florida. He regularly acts as peer reviewer for national and international

conference proceedings and academic journals, and successfully co-supervised

numerous MEd and PhD studies. He serves on the Executive Board of the UNESCO

Research Chair in Multimodal Learning and Open Educational Resources (NWU),

and is a member of the research team contributing towards the UFS-DHET-

European Union TVET research initiative.

mailto:llizye122@gmail.com
mailto:christoels117@gmail.com

Notes on Contributors

xxix

Nixon J.P. Teis

ORCid id: 0000-0001-8945-9835; teisnjp@ufs.ac.za

Dr. Nixon is a teacher educator and researcher at the University of the Free State

(UFS), South Africa. He is the former Head of School of Mathematics, Natural

Sciences and Technology Education and teaches both undergraduate and

postgraduate Technology Education modules in the Faculty of Education. He is the

lead researcher of a grand funded national research project that focuses on the

state of TVET Engineering lecturer knowledge and the UFS DHET/EU TVET CLEP

coordinator. Nixon supervises a cohort of masters and doctoral students that

reflects critically on their own teaching practice and generates empirical data from

those affected by their teachings. His research interests include teacher knowledge,

the philosophy of technology and social justice with a discipline-specific focus in

Technology, engineering and technical and vocational education and training

practices.

Benjamin Seleke

ORCid id: 0000-0002-8191-5653; benseleke@gmail.com

Dr. Benjamin Seleke is a Technology Education lecturer and a researcher at the

Bloemfontein campus of the University of the Free Stat. He worked for 15 years as

a Technology teacher at Realeka Secondary school in Letsopa, Ottosdal, and since

2015, before joining the University of the Free State, he lectured Technology

Education modules at the North West University’s Unit for Open Distance Learning.

His research focuses on the infusion of indigenous knowledge into Technology

Education, self-directed learning in Technology Education, as well as Technological

knowledge and skills required by Technical and Vocational Education and Training

lecturers.

mailto:teisnjp@ufs.ac.za
mailto:benseleke@gmail.com

xxx

Table of Contents

Members of the Editorial Board ........................................................................ i

Research Justification ...................................................................................... vi

Foreword ...................................................................................................... viii

Notes on Contributors ..................................................................................... xi

The potential of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

research towards transformative pedagogies in higher education: An

approach to ethical mindedness ..................................................................... 32

Jessica Pool, Mariëtte Fourie, Yolanda Heymans, Christmal Christmals

Praxis of humanising pedagogy to enhance the throughput

of postgraduate students in South Africa: A caveat ......................................... 64

Musara Lubombo

Preparing students for rapidly evolving futures: Using

learning theory to inform pedagogical practice. ............................................ 103

Susan Geertshuis

Culture trumps structure in the competitive struggle

between teaching and research ................................................................... 144

Susan Benvenuti, Agata MacGregor, Danie de Klerk

Responding to the call for higher education transformation

in South Africa: Beyond “decolonisation” to contextualisation of the

curriculum.................................................................................................... 176

Andre Bechuke, Raymond Emekako

Decolonising South African higher education: Transforming

curricula by addressing dichotomies ............................................................. 212

Hamid H. Kazeroony, Yvonne Du Plessis

Table of Contents

xxxi

Reflecting on four South African case studies of experiential

learning in spatial planning to inform curriculum transformation in higher

education ..................................................................................................... 239

K. Puren, J.E. Drewes, S. Cornelius, J. Viviers, N.S. Jacobs

Problem-Based Learning: Priming pre-service consumer

studies teachers for practical lessons ............................................................ 287

Adri du Toit

An Exploration of Philosophical Literacy in the South

African Context ............................................................................................ 321

Yolandi M. Coetser, Jean du Toit

A holistic, continuous approach to NWU students’

academic acculturation: The role of Academic Literacy and the Writing

Centre .......................................................................................................... 365

Mariska Nel, Zander Janse van Rensburg

The application of the SOLO Taxonomy for evaluating the

cognitive levels of assessment in an introductory Financial Accounting

module ........................................................................................................ 408

Gert von Benecke, Surika van Rooyen

Exploring tutor engagement in responding to students’

needs through Care-full, Online, Formative Feedback ................................... 449

Arona Dison, Karen Collett, Irene Nyamu, Timalizge Zgambo

CHAPTER 13: 4IR Technological knowledge and skills required by

Technical Engineering lectures for the effective curriculum reconstruction of

TVET Engineering Programmes ..................................................................... 485

Christo J. Els, Nixon J.P. Teis, Benjamin Seleke

The potential of Scholarship of

Teaching and Learning research

towards transformative pedagogies in

higher education: An approach to

ethical mindedness

Jessica Pool,

Centre for Teaching and Learning, North-West University

Mariëtte Fourie,

Centre for Teaching and Learning, North-West University

Yolande Heymans,

Centre for Health Professions Education, Faculty of Health Sciences,

North-West University

Christmal Christmals

Centre for Health Professions Education, Faculty of Health Sciences,

North-West University

Abstract

Scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) presents the vital intersection
between teaching, learning and research in the Higher Education context.
However, ethical requirements applicable to SoTL research are mistrusted
and remain a challenge. This results in lecturers not engaging in SoTL
research towards transformative pedagogies. In addition, clear guidelines for
ethics in SoTL are lacking. In this chapter, the authors critically reflect on
ethical mindedness specifically relevant to SoTL research. The scientific gap
identified in the literature implies the provision of more guidance on ethical

Chapter 1

issues to enhance SoTL research. Applying ethical mindedness to SoTL
research may provide a stronger coherence between the ethical application
process and the scientific approach of SoTL. The study followed a qualitative
research approach using design thinking as research methodology. This
chapter provided ethical principles and guidelines to the wider SoTL
community, including academics, academic developers, scientific committees
and RECs to close this gap. Guidelines included aspects such as how to address
the power relation in SoTL research, important aspects of informed consent
and the process, autonomy to choose freely to participate or not, selection of
participants, benefits and risk ratio, protecting participants and the integrity
of the research as well as safeguarding data.

Keywords: Ethics, Higher Education, Pedagogies, Scholarship of Teaching and

Learning, Transformation

Introduction and background

The identity of an academic as a university teacher is embedded in

knowledge consumers, producers, and disseminators. This implies that the

work of an academic involves being a university teacher and a researcher

(DHET, 2018). According to the framework for academics as university

teachers, these roles should not be in competition as they are equally

important and interdependent (DHET, 2018). Literature suggests a lack of

ethical mindedness amongst Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

researchers as regards to ethical guidelines that apply to scholarly research.

These guidelines are necessary as SoTL research adheres to the same

scientific and ethics criteria as all disciplinary research (Pool & Reitsma,

2017).

In addition, a misconception related to SoTL context and specific approach of

SoTL research by non-educational research ethics committees (RECs) is

evident (Stockley & Balkwill, 2013). During an SoTL writing retreat offered as

a professional development opportunity to academics at the NWU, these

Chapter 1

gaps were confirmed by SoTL participants. Consequently, an Ethics in SoTL

research workshop was conceptualised, developed, and presented. The

purpose of this workshop was to focus specifically on the ethical issues

related to the ethical considerations during each step of the SoTL research

process and to create a sense of ethical mindedness. The envisaged

outcomes of this workshop were to develop guiding principles for applying

ethical mindedness in SoTL research. The workshop created a space where

academic developers, academics and experts in RECs collaboratively and

critically engaged in ethical mindedness in SOTL research. This led to valuable

insights and a shared understanding of ethical principles in SoTL research that

might lead to more SoTL research outputs. Providing collaborative spaces and

professional development opportunities allows for academics who are

passionate about engaging in a scholarly approach to teaching and learning

in higher education (HE) to explore and discuss uncertainties and some

burning issues and challenges in SoTL research.

The transformative potential of SoTL in higher

education

This section emphasises the importance of engaging in SoTL research

towards transformative pedagogies in HE. The development of SoTL in HE

institutions in South Africa emerged from 2004 ISSoTL conference (ISSoTL,

2004). Subsequently, an increase in the number of SoTL initiatives is evident

in South Africa and also at the NWU. SoTL is supported by the Department of

Higher Education and Training (DHET) and is an integral part of the

framework for academics as university teachers (DHET, 2018).

SoTL provides an opportunity for academics as university teachers to conduct

scholarly inquiry into teaching and learning processes in HE contexts. The

overall intention of SoTL is to focus on expertise in HE teaching and learning,

Chapter 1

thus improving student learning and enhancing educational quality through

evidence-based and methodologically sound research (Huber & Hutchings,

2005; Mckinney, 2007, 2012). Kreber (2013) postulates that SoTL contributes

to the broader vision of university teaching through the commitment to serve

important interests of students, not only for their academic learning and

personal flourishing but also for creating greater social justice in the world.

In support of Kreber (2013), the draft Ministerial Statement on the

implementation of the University Capacity Development Programme (UCDP)

advocates for transformation and social justice in HE. The Ministerial

Statement further argues that promoting SoTL is one example of a vital

intersection between teaching and research because it provides an

opportunity for academics to conduct scholarly inquiry into teaching and

learning processes in HE contexts (Department of Higher Education and

Training [DHET], 2019). Therefore, research and teaching development

should be viewed as equally important imperatives for the success of the HE

system (Department of Higher Education and Training [DHET], 2019).

In the context of HE, and specifically at the NWU, a scholarly approach to

student success is regarded as necessary to ensure pedagogical best practices

(NWU Teaching and Learning Strategy, 2021–2025). This implies the adoption

of pedagogical best practices, as opposed to practices aimed only at the

transmission of knowledge. However, pedagogical best practices have been

challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the context of remote online

teaching and learning, best practices in HE from a student, lecturer and

professional staff perspective are needed to enhance the virtual teaching and

learning experience. It is required of academics as university teachers to

engage in pedagogical innovation regarding teaching and assessment

strategies in their classrooms. SoTL research could enable pedagogical

innovation, as it encapsulates reflection on and transformation of teaching

Chapter 1

and learning practices and, therefore, provides a vital intersection between

teaching and research. This also aspires to the overall theme of this book –

“A scholarly approach to student success in HE within the context of one of

the subthemes: Academics as university teachers”.

Beyond the transformative potential of SoTL in higher

education: Adopting an ethical mindedness

In reaching a shared understanding of the ethical implications for SoTL

research, this section elaborates on the possible reasons for engaging in SoTL

research towards transformative pedagogies in HE being absent. Amongst

others, SoTL researchers are of the opinion that scientific evidence required

by REC’s are hindering SoTL research (Cleary et al., 2014; Reed, 2007; Stockley

& Balkwill, 2013). SoTL researchers find that the ethical criteria are

incompatible for SoTL research and, therefore, are lacking trust in the ethical

approval process. The literature also reports that, because of the

misconception about SoTL research, ethical clearance is perceived as

perplexed, tedious, and not applicable to SoTL research (Linder et al., 2014;

Stockley & Balkwill, 2013; Hally & Walsh, 2016).

The authors argue that providing practical principles and clear guidelines for

ethics in SoTL research may address the misconceptions and confusion about

ethics in SoTL research. This dilemma is confirmed by Pool and Reitsma

(2017:39), who stated, “[d]espite expanding engagement in Scholarship of

Teaching and Learning (SoTL), clear guidelines for ethical criteria for SoTL,

and the implementation thereof remain limited”. In their paper, they

critically reflected on how ethical criteria applicable to SoTL impact lecturer

engagement in SoTL. It is for this reason that the authors make suggestions

on how to support SoTL research without losing the scholarliness and the

impact it has on innovation in teaching and learning.

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Therefore, the authors acknowledge a lack of evidence of principles and

guidelines for ethics in SoTL research. In this chapter, the authors critically

reflect on ethical mindedness specifically relevant to SoTL research. The

scientific gap identified in the literature implies the provision of more

guidance on ethical issues to enhance SoTL research. Applying ethical

mindedness to SoTL research may support a better alignment between the

ethical application process and the scientific approach of SoTL. This chapter

aims to provide ethical principles and guidelines to the wider SoTL

community, including academics, academic developers, scientific

committees and RECs to close this gap.

Against this background, this study aimed to address the following

compelling research question:

What principles and guidelines can be developed to address the

misconceptions and confusion about ethics in SoTL research and to establish

a sense of ethical mindedness?

Moreover, the aims of this research was to:

• explore the potential of SoTL towards transformative pedagogies in

higher education;

• develop an understanding of the misconception and confusion

related to ethics in SoTL research;

• develop principles, guidelines and ethical mindedness related to

ethics in SoTL research.

Research methodology

A paradigm is a theoretical framework which is based on a certain set of

beliefs which suggests practical frameworks for scientific activities (Bandura,

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2001). This study followed a pragmatic approach by applying design thinking

(DT). Design thinking is generally defined as a developmental philosophy,

which includes a paradigm, methods, tools, and techniques relevant to DT.

This study employed a wicked problems paradigm, which deals with the

fundamental assumption behind DT. In the context of SoTL research, ethics

remains a contested and ill-defined topic, as it relies on many interdependent

factors, which often require a deep understanding of the stakeholders

involved (Interaction Design Foundation, n.d.). Therefore, the researchers

deemed DT as a suitable paradigm for this study. The research method of DT

applied in this study refers to reflective practice, and the tools and techniques

used to collect data include facilitated focus groups discussions, reflections,

brainstorming, mind maps, and feedback sessions (Laursen & Tollestrup,

2017).

Qualitative data was collected during an online professional development

workshop. The online workshop entailed information sessions, breakout

sessions in groups with feedback, brainstorming, expert panel discussions,

and input from scientific and research ethics committees. The study

population consisted of academics and academic developers who registered

for the workshop, and an all-inclusive voluntary sample was used. Informed

consent was obtained in adherence to all ethical criteria. All data sets were

transcribed by an independent person, to ensure trustworthiness.

Thereafter, the data was thematically coded and analysed to develop an

understanding of the misconception and confusion related to ethics in SoTL

research as well as to develop principles, guidelines and ethical mindedness

related to ethics in SoTL research.

In the next section, the research findings are discussed.

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Research findings and discussion

Ethics in SoTL research

Ongoing discourses in the field of SoTL research relate to the following: (i)

the need for ethical clearance due to the perceived non-scientific nature of

SoTL research; (ii) academics are often of the opinion that gathering

information from students in their classrooms is not defined as scientific

research and, therefore, does not require ethical clearance; and (ii) SoTL

research constitutes no risk.

A critical reflection is provided by Healey et al. (2013) which sheds light on

the understanding of both SoTL and ethics: “SoTL is the process of exploring,

researching, developing, refining, reflecting upon, and communicating better

ways and means of producing, promoting, and enhancing scholarly learning

and teaching in ways that are ethically reasoned and inclusive” (p. 24). This

definition implies that SoTL research is scientific in nature and affects (i)

institutional practice and educational issues, and (ii) human society (Healey

et al. 2013).

This, in turn, raises the question as to what constitutes ethical mindedness in

SoTL research. The Belmont Report explains the ethical nature of research

when involving human subjects: (i) respect for persons, (ii) beneficence, and

(ii) justice (Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 2014). These three

Belmont principles are further subdivided into 10 ethical principles for SoTL

research, which are discussed in this section. These principles include power

relationship; voluntary participation; informed consent; fairness and equity;

autonomy and privacy; inclusive selection; risks and benefits; data storage

and management. SoTL research at the NWU strives to support the Belmont

principles. SoTL becomes ethical when researchers show personal ethical

mindedness and function in an ethical climate (Healey et al. 2013) .

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It is important to realise that there are always risks involved when conducting

research with students as vulnerable participants. Furthermore, the research

method applied also determines the risk level – for example, qualitative

research methods such as interviews, personal reflection, and/or

visual/audio recordings immediately indicate a higher level of risk.

The following section discusses 10 practice-based principles underpinned by

ongoing discourses and the Belmont Report. It provides guidelines on how

these could be applied to SoTL research. It is important to acknowledge the

interconnectedness between the principles.

Guiding principles for SoTL Research

Guiding Principle 1: Power relationship

Occupying the role as lecturer and researcher – each with their own identity,

values, and power association – creates an unequal power dynamic, thus a

conflict of interest, placing undue pressure on students (Pool & Reitsma,

2017; Schnurr & Taylor, 2019). As authority figures and gatekeepers to

students’ academic success, lecturers are in a position of trust and power.

Lecturers may occupy different types of power, all of which can create a

sense of fear. Lecturers have legitimate power, giving them “control” over

others. Having coercive power, lecturers may dispense “punishment” to

those who do not comply with requests. Having the power of reward implies

the ability (implied or real) to pass or fail students. Power is perceived

differently, and the power associated with an individual can influence the

thinking and doing of others. Students, as a captive audience and essentially

“trapped”, are dependent on the lecturer for their educational success (Pool

& Reitsma, 2017). The unequal power dynamics (perceived, implied, or

absolute) and the control associated with this position of power can create

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ethical dilemmas such as coercion, undue influence, and a conflict of interest

(Feroduk, 2017; Schnurr & Taylor, 2019).

The lecturer-researcher (hereafter “the lecturer”) must be ethical when

including students as research participants (Feroduk, 2017). An ethics

application and supporting documentation should show sensitivity towards

and cognisance of the dual role and associated power relationships. Drawing

on the risk analysis, possible conflict of interest (actual, potential, or

perceived), dual role and power-associated risks and ethical dilemmas must

be identified, and mitigating strategies must be included (Schnurr & Taylor,

2019). Strategies can include talking to colleagues to identify “blind spots”

the lecturer may have regarding undue influence, coercion, power

imbalances, and conflict of interest. Applicants should identify the power

relationships present, acknowledge the inherent power differential, and the

influence of race, gender, age, culture, etcetera, on the perception of power

(Feroduk, 2017).

The use of a knowledgeable neutral, independent person(s) who is not in a

position of power is advisable when engaging with the students during any

research-related activities (Feroduk, 2017). Informed about the roles and

responsibilities of the researcher and the independent person, the neutral

person serves as a buffer between the lecturer and the students, which will

help to protect the identity of students who are willing to participate or not

(Feroduk, 2017). The researcher must train the neutral person(s) before the

start of the research, as preparing them would protect the integrity of the

research project. To enhance anonymity, the neutral person must remove

any identifiable information from the data sets, and the use of a code list is

recommendable (Feroduk, 2017; Schnurr & Taylor, 2019). Using online

systems and software when collecting data from students can minimise the

power relationship (Schnurr & Taylor, 2019). Data analysis should only start

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when the lecturer has no further role to play in the teaching and learning of

the student.

Guiding Principle 2: Participants should be fully informed

Principle 2 pivots around ensuring that participants are fully informed about

the intended research, and based on the information, they can decide if they

want to participate (or not) (Feroduk, 2017). Research ethics committees

provide clear guidelines on the information that should be included for a

participant to make an informed decision. In their ethics application, the

informed consent form and applicable supporting documents, researchers

should disclose the information participants need to make an informed

decision regarding participation (Schnurr & Taylor, 2019). Before the

research commences, prospective participants should be informed about the

intended research during a research information session (Pool & Reitsma,

2017). It is also essential that participants have access to research-related

information for their perusal. Such information could, for example, be

uploaded to the learning management system (LMS). An independent and

neutral person should facilitate the information session. Using a neutral

person would reduce the power relationship associated with the dual

lecturer-researcher role (Feroduk, 2017). Students are a captured audience

and, therefore, the research information session should be mandatory and

not interfere with academic time. Although an independent person facilitates

the research information session, the researcher can still inform the

participants of the intended research. However, a trained independent

person should facilitate the informed consent process without the researcher

so as to minimise the student–lecturer power relationship (Pool & Reitsma,

2017).

During the research information session, it is important that participants are

informed about the aim of the research and that expectations are elucidated,

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highlighting possible risks and risk-mitigation strategies (Feroduk, 2017) and

explaining the direct and indirect benefits of participating in the research

(Schnurr & Taylor, 2019). The researcher should inform participants that

participation is voluntary, that they can withdraw before data

anonymisation, and that there would be no repercussions for declining

consent. The researcher must elucidate the data collection methods, who will

access the raw data sets and provide insight into when the data analysis

process starts (Schnurr & Taylor, 2019). The researcher must elaborate on

strategies to ensure anonymity and confidentiality and must emphasise that

only partial confidentiality can be ensured in the case of focus group

interviews. Finally, the researcher should share information on the

dissemination of the findings and the roles and responsibilities of the lecturer

as the researcher and the independent person(s) (Schnurr & Taylor, 2019).

Guiding Principle 3: Autonomy to choose freely and privately whether to

participate

Principle 3 addresses the ethical aspect of autonomy to choose freely and

privately whether to participate in the research, refuse to participate, or

withdraw from participation at any time during or after the research

(provided that the data have not already been disseminated) after being fully

informed. This implies ensuring that each student’s decision to participate (or

not) in the research is voluntary and that their privacy is protected when

giving or declining consent. Researchers have an ongoing duty to provide

participants with all information relevant to their ongoing consent to

participate in the research. Therefore, consent should be maintained

throughout the research project.

There is a specific way in which providing informed consent should take place

for a face-to-face and online setting, allowing for autonomy. This could differ

according to the specific REC requirements. Also, an important aspect to

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consider relates to the time that elapses between the information given

about the research and when informed consent is obtained. Therefore,

sufficient time should be allowed for students to provide consent to freely

and privately choose to participate.

All information pertaining to informed consent – including information

videos, etcetera – should be uploaded to an LMS for the students to access,

providing them sufficient time to familiarise themselves with the research.

During the contact session, an independent person (no power relation

evident) should explain the nature of the research, provide all relevant

information necessary and should address any questions so that potential

participants (students) are fully informed as explained in Principle 2.

Informed consent forms should be signed by both the students and the

independent person collecting these forms. When collecting consent forms

from student participants in class, the forms should be designed in such a

way so that all students sign and hand in the paper form in order to prevent

knowledge of who is participating and who is not participating (e.g., explain

that everyone signs the consent form, but those who do not want to

participate can then draw two lines through their signatures). The signed

forms are placed in a box, sealed in front of the last student by the

independent person, who will then capture the data. Students who do not

give consent immediately, have the opportunity to do so later during the

research. Within the online environment, informed consent is obtained using

an electronic form where all relevant protocols are followed. This implies that

the students are still fully informed and have a choice to freely participate or

not. Students are instructed to click on a link that takes them to the informed

consent form. If a student then agrees to give consent by clicking “accept”,

the terms and conditions are explained and the student agrees that they

want to participate in the study and that they are fully informed.

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The method of recruitment is also essential in ensuring voluntariness. In

particular, how, when and where participants are approached and who

recruits them are important elements in assuring (or undermining)

voluntariness. In considering the voluntariness of consent, RECs and

researchers should be cognisant of situations where undue influence,

coercion, or the offer of incentives may undermine the voluntariness of a

participant’s consent to participate in research, as explained under Guiding

Principle 1.

Different forms of data collection should be considered for the autonomy

principle (i.e., to participate or not). For example, video or audio recordings

may include students in one's class who have not provided informed consent

to participate in the research. When using video recordings, consenting

students should be given options. The first option may be that they give

consent if the video recording will only be viewed by the research team; the

second option may be that the video recording will be viewed by the research

team and will then be shared during dissemination of the research

findings. In addition, when conducting surveys, web-based survey tools (e.g.,

Qualtrics, etc.) that allow for students to participate anonymously should be

used. Anonymous online participation eliminates personal identifiers and

peer pressure and allows students who are not interested in participating to

privately decline. Incentives (if offered) should be kept a minimum to avoid

undue influence, and students should be provided with clear timelines during

which they may opt in or out of participation in the study.

Guiding Principle 4: Decision to participate (or not)

Principle 4 addresses the decision of the student whether to participate in

the research or not. Lecturers have the authority to conduct SoTL research

in a specific module they teach. However, they must ensure that students

have a choice as to whether to participate in the research. To understand this

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principle, it is necessary to distinguish between normal compulsory teaching

and learning activities and teaching and learning activities related to SoTL

research.

RECs require researchers to clearly explain which activities are research-

related and which are curriculum related teaching and learning activities

(Bishop-Clark & Dietz-Uhler, 2012). This remains a challenge, as in many

cases, there is no distinction between SoTL research activities and normal

learning activities. The reason for distinguishing SoTL research activities from

normal learning activities is to allow students a choice to participate or not.

This implies that normal learning activities are compulsory, but the student

has a choice as to whether the lecturer may use the data for SoTL research.

Students who do not provide consent to participate in the research cannot

be included in the study population. However, it is compulsory that students

are still being allowed to participate in the learning activity towards

improving their learning (Rowland and Myatt, 2013).

To further protect students as vulnerable participants, RECs suggest that data

should not be collected during class time, as valuable teaching and learning

time is lost if data collection is conducted during class time. The challenge

remains that student participation significantly drops when data is gathered

in separate organised sessions outside formal teaching time. This resulted in

problems with too small sample sizes, or not being able to reach data

saturation, impacting on the credibility of the data (Cleary et al. 2014).

Cleary et al. (2014) further explained that students do not participate

because they do not see the direct benefit of new or improved innovative

learning, and this may have resulted in them not realising the importance of

the SoTL research.

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Guiding Principle 5: Inclusive, fair, and equitable selection of participants

Many human atrocities underlined by scientific experiments such as the

Tuskegee syphilis study (Brandt, 1978), medical research in colonial Africa

(Tilley, 2016), the Holocaust, and unethical vivisection triggered critical

examination of ethical inclusion of humans in research. Just like research,

research ethics has evolved over time (Dhai, 2014; Paul & Brookes, 2015),

transitioning various industries and institutional boundaries – this includes

the use of students and HE institutional information in scientific inquiry

(Hassel, 2013). As discussed previously, due to the power relationship

between the students and their lecturers, their age, and the assumed need

to be successful in their assessment, students are considered a vulnerable

group for SoTL research (Sykes & Dullabh, 2012). There must be a concerted

effort by researchers and human RECs to ensure inclusive, fair, and equitable

selection of such vulnerable groups in SoTL research (Department of Health,

2015).

The following should be considered in the selection of students in SoTL

research: setting, risks, and benefits; vulnerability; inclusion and exclusion

criteria; and the recruitment and enrolment process.

The setting and population for the SoTL research must be inclusive of those

who would benefit most from the intervention during and after the study,

and they must be fully aware of the benefits. Beecher (1966) established that

many humans across the globe – and most commonly in the developing

world (Harkness et al., 2001) – have experienced grave consequences

secondary to participating in harmful experiments that they were not fully

aware of. The benefits must always outweigh the risk before participants are

allowed to participate in a study. Due to the stringent ethical requirements

in the developed and industrial world, many scientists tend to use the

developing world as a laboratory for experiments that they would not be

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allowed to undertake in their home countries. It is essential that HE

institutions and their scientific and ethics committees protect their students

and groups of potential participants against such exploitations. The burden

of the experimentation must be fairly distributed to the populations that

would benefit from the study, and no experiment should be allowed for the

development of products for another setting.

SoTL research may overburden students who already have full academic

loads. Also, students are easily susceptible to pressure, especially when their

lecturers are the researchers. The researcher must scientifically justify why

such vulnerable groups are included in the study and must provide strategies

to protect them from coercion. However, while protecting the vulnerable

population, the researcher must also be careful not to overprotect (Sykes &

Dullabh, 2012).

Researchers must evaluate their inclusion criteria to ensure that students are

not excluded for non-scientific reasons such as funding, available time, and

convenience. Researchers should vividly describe what participants are

susceptible to potential risks of the study and the exclusion process (Sykes &

Dullabh, 2012). The recruitment and enrolment process demands that the

researcher applies the inclusion and exclusion criteria carefully, knowing well

that biases may arise during the selection process which might make fair

selection criteria inequitable. Furthermore, the timing of any remuneration

should be carefully examined to ensure it does not introduce coercion of

students.

In Scholarship Reconsidered, Boyer (1990) sought to create the culture of

rethinking the classroom space as the laboratory for inquiry (Hassel, 2013).

Participating in SoTL research is beneficial to the students, academics, and

the institutions involved and must be encouraged by all stakeholders.

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Guiding Principle 6: Benefits and risks of participating

Principle 6 explores the ethical principles surrounding the risks and benefits

associated with participating in SoTL research. Non-maleficence underpins

SoTL research and refers to an obligation not to inflict harm on others (Linder

et al., 2014). Cleary et al., (2014) argue that any research with humans may

hold risks and there may be the possibility of harm. Cleary et al., (2014) refers

to “Risk” as the probability of harm when participating in research, and

“harm” relates to anything that harms a participant’s welfare (Cleary et al.,

2014).

Risk–benefit ratio analysis should precede any research with humans. Greeff

(2016:1) explains that the purpose of the risk–benefit ratio is to “evaluate

whether there is an ethically justifiable balance between the anticipated

research results and any harm or inconvenience” that the research can cause

any participant. Researchers should assess the probability, magnitude, and

seriousness of harm. The risks involved in participating in the research will

determine the risk category and levels (e.g., low, minimal, medium, and high

risk) (Greeff, 2016). The researcher should identify any harm, whether

physical, psychological, social, legal, economic, dignitary, or communal

(Greeff, 2016). Ethics applications and supporting documents should contain

the expected, potential and anticipated risks and harm categories, level of

risk in every stage of the research, and the reason for risk should be justified

(Feroduk, 2017). Researchers should further indicate how they plan to

minimise the risk of harm and include mitigation strategies (Greeff, 2016;

Linder et al., 2014). Before obtaining informed consent, participants should

be fully informed about the expected, potential/anticipated risks (Cleary et

al., 2014). The benefits of participating should outweigh the potential risk of

harm and the risk-benefit ratio should be a favourable ratio (Pool & Reitsma,

2017).

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Cleary et.al., (2014) emphasise the value of SoTL research for current

students as participants, for future students, the lecturer, the lecturer-

researcher, the institution, the broader community, and SoTL funders.

Benefits can be direct or indirect. Direct benefits positively affect the interest

or welfare of the participant, while indirect benefits are benefits to the

researcher, scientific field of knowledge, or the community (Linder et al.,

2014). The researcher should disclose all direct and indirect benefits upfront

in the ethics application and supporting documentation (MacLean & Poole,

2010).

Another essential element in SoTL research is the equitable distribution of

research benefits. Researchers should avoid circumstances where one group

of individuals are significantly advantaged or disadvantaged by participating

in the study (MacLean & Poole, 2010). Pool and Reitsma (2017) highlight

contesting arguments in literature regarding the award of incentives for

participating in SoTL research. These authors emphasise that incentives

should be appropriate for the time and effort spent participating, and

advocate the use of a lucky draw voucher(s) as a token of appreciation.

Guiding Principle 7: Disseminating the results

Principle 7 outlines the dissemination of the research results. As discussed in

literature (Fanghanel et al., 2016), there is a distinct difference between

adopting a scholarly approach to teaching and learning and participating in

SoTL. A scholarly approach (being a scholar) entails only being a consumer of

other scholars’ knowledge, whereas SoTL is evident of dissemination of

research outputs (i.e., being a producer of knowledge). These research

outputs take on a variety of forms inclusive of formal and informal outputs.

Formal outputs may include peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and/or

conference proceedings and presentations. More informal research outputs

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involve intra-institutional presentations, faculty seminars, subject group

meetings, and workshops.

As an SoTL researcher, one has an ethical responsibility to inform participants

of the relevant dissemination of the results. During the process of informed

consent, students should be made aware that the results will be

disseminated. In addition, when disseminating the results, careful

consideration of the anonymity of participants and institutions is important.

The manner in which the findings are presented (e.g., direct quotations of a

small group of participants) might reveal the identity of participants. Another

important aspect to consider is the format in which the particular results are

shared – a journal publication will not necessarily be suitable for a student

audience but rather in a visually attractive presentation or report. Principle 7

is an important ethical consideration, and guidelines as outlined above

should always be clearly stipulated in the ethics application form.

Guiding Principle 8: Protecting participants’ information and the integrity

of the research project

Students and their guardians trust HE institutions to protect students’

information and dignity. The protection of participant information and

integrity is so essential to students, institutions, the Department of Higher

Education, and the South African government in general, that many policies

and Acts have been promulgated to ensure its implementation.

Major policies and Acts – such as the Post-School Education and Training

Information Policy (DHET, 2019); the Human Research Ethics Committee

(2021) Principles and Procedures; the Department of Health (2015) policy on

Ethics in Health Research: Principles, Processe