Student experiences of attending the first online Southern African Students Psychology Conference at an open distance e-learning university in South Africa
The devastation and aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to pervade almost every sphere of human existence, albeit arguably increasingly nuanced. As we move into the post-pandemic world, it is essential to reflect on the lessons learned and forge transformed decolonialised ways of knowledge p...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Journal of Student Affairs in Africa
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Student Affairs in Africa |
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| Online Access: | https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/article/view/5061 |
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| author | Janice K Moodley-Marie Bianca Parry Itumeleng Masisi |
| author_facet | Janice K Moodley-Marie Bianca Parry Itumeleng Masisi |
| author_sort | Janice K Moodley-Marie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The devastation and aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to pervade almost every sphere of human existence, albeit arguably increasingly nuanced. As we move into the post-pandemic world, it is essential to reflect on the lessons learned and forge transformed decolonialised ways of knowledge production in higher education. To ensure the continuation of academic socialisation, academic conference organisers have had to introduce virtual conferencing during the pandemic. In this paper, we discuss the experiences of students that attended the first online Southern African Students Psychology Conference (SASPC) during the pandemic in South Africa within an Open Distance e-Learning context. We use academic socialisation as a theoretical framework to understand student experiences attending the first online SASPC and to discuss the student conference as a site for decolonialisation. From the focus group discussion with student attendees, the historical and current format of the conference unexpectedly emerged as a colonised space of academic socialisation that the students challenged. Opportunities for using the student conference space as a site of decolonisation are explored to contribute to the dearth of scholarly literature aimed at actively incorporating student’s voices in the decolonialisation of academic spaces in the Global South. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-756c9183902c42869391ff042158e70e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2311-1771 2307-6267 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Journal of Student Affairs in Africa |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Student Affairs in Africa |
| spelling | doaj-art-756c9183902c42869391ff042158e70e2025-01-03T12:43:22ZengJournal of Student Affairs in AfricaJournal of Student Affairs in Africa2311-17712307-62672024-12-0112210.24085/jsaa.v12i2.50615063Student experiences of attending the first online Southern African Students Psychology Conference at an open distance e-learning university in South AfricaJanice K Moodley-Marie0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8323-6152Bianca Parry1Itumeleng Masisi2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5904-1881University of South AfricaUniversity of PretoriaUniversity of South AfricaThe devastation and aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to pervade almost every sphere of human existence, albeit arguably increasingly nuanced. As we move into the post-pandemic world, it is essential to reflect on the lessons learned and forge transformed decolonialised ways of knowledge production in higher education. To ensure the continuation of academic socialisation, academic conference organisers have had to introduce virtual conferencing during the pandemic. In this paper, we discuss the experiences of students that attended the first online Southern African Students Psychology Conference (SASPC) during the pandemic in South Africa within an Open Distance e-Learning context. We use academic socialisation as a theoretical framework to understand student experiences attending the first online SASPC and to discuss the student conference as a site for decolonialisation. From the focus group discussion with student attendees, the historical and current format of the conference unexpectedly emerged as a colonised space of academic socialisation that the students challenged. Opportunities for using the student conference space as a site of decolonisation are explored to contribute to the dearth of scholarly literature aimed at actively incorporating student’s voices in the decolonialisation of academic spaces in the Global South.https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/article/view/5061online academic conferencesstudentspsychologycovid-19south africaacademic socialisationstudent experience |
| spellingShingle | Janice K Moodley-Marie Bianca Parry Itumeleng Masisi Student experiences of attending the first online Southern African Students Psychology Conference at an open distance e-learning university in South Africa Journal of Student Affairs in Africa online academic conferences students psychology covid-19 south africa academic socialisation student experience |
| title | Student experiences of attending the first online Southern African Students Psychology Conference at an open distance e-learning university in South Africa |
| title_full | Student experiences of attending the first online Southern African Students Psychology Conference at an open distance e-learning university in South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Student experiences of attending the first online Southern African Students Psychology Conference at an open distance e-learning university in South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Student experiences of attending the first online Southern African Students Psychology Conference at an open distance e-learning university in South Africa |
| title_short | Student experiences of attending the first online Southern African Students Psychology Conference at an open distance e-learning university in South Africa |
| title_sort | student experiences of attending the first online southern african students psychology conference at an open distance e learning university in south africa |
| topic | online academic conferences students psychology covid-19 south africa academic socialisation student experience |
| url | https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/article/view/5061 |
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