http://hdl.handle.net/11189/1921 Sun, 13 Sep 2026 04:51:51 GMT 2026-09-13T04:51:51Z http://hdl.handle.net/11189/10824 Title: Learning to teach again: navigating pedagogical change in the post-COVID university Authors: Norodien-Fataar, Najwa Abstract: Across the African continent and globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has catalysed significant transformation in higher education. This paper employs the community of inquiry framework to examine how academics at a South African university responded to these challenges during their shift from emergency remote teaching to blended learning. This qualitative paper is based on interviews with 11 academics across six faculties. It provides insight into how academics recalibrated their teaching by introducing new digital practices, reconfiguring student support, and redesigning learning. The findings show the development of a teaching presence and academics’ willingness to adopt digital platforms and multimodal learning environments, which enhanced students’ access to learning. A key finding is that academics constructed blended and student-centred learning approaches and anticipated discussion and dialogue among students; however, students’ engagement was limited, especially in asynchronous spaces. Empathetic presence emerged as an essential dimension, reflecting academics’ care and responsiveness to students’ socioeconomic challenges. Academics adopted more flexible and student-sensitive approaches to sustain meaningful engagement. The paper suggests that post-pandemic pedagogy must move beyond affective responsiveness to embed student voice, agency, and epistemic inclusion. This paper contributes to comparative debates on pedagogical renewal by responding to Mahlaba and Sekano’s (2023) African continental review and Giakoumakis et al.’s (2025) global critique of digital corporatisation, and by calling for internationally compassionate teaching frameworks that support African and Global South universities in building just, dialogic, and connected learning communities. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/11189/10824 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/11189/10814 Title: Whose feedback matters? Exploring human and AI-supported writing feedback practices in a South African writing centre Authors: Nendauni, Lutendo Abstract: In the context of the growing reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) tools for academic writing, this article explores how undergraduate students at a South African writing centre perceive and use feedback from both human tutors and AI-based tools. Drawing on Feedback Literacy and Critical Digital Pedagogy, the study investigates the strengths and limitations of AI-generated and human feedback, as well as how resource constraints shape student practices. Using qualitative interviews with 10 undergraduate students across diverse disciplines, the findings reveal that while AI tools offer efficiency for surface-level corrections, students express a strong preference for the relational, dialogic, and context-sensitive nature of human feedback. Students strategically blend AI and tutor feedback, demonstrating emerging feedback literacy, yet their practices remain constrained by infrastructural barriers and algorithmic biases. The study highlights the risk that AI-generated feedback may reinforce educational inequalities if digital divides and linguistic diversity are not adequately addressed. It calls for feedback ecologies that balance technological innovation with human care, supporting equitable, and inclusive writing development in under-resourced, multilingual higher education settings. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/11189/10814 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/11189/10813 Title: The politics of space in South African writing centres: whose knowledge is centred? Authors: Nendauni, Lutendo Abstract: This article examines South African university writing centres as contested spaces where language, knowledge, and power intersect. Drawing on Lefebvre’s spatial triad and decolonial theory, the article explores how the material layout, institutional messaging, and everyday practices within these centres either challenge or reproduce epistemic hierarchies, often privileging English and Western academic norms while marginalising local languages and alternative ways of knowing. Employing a reflective practitioner research approach, this study used spatial ethnography, discourse and visual analysis, and semi-structured interviews with students. The findings reveal that while the perceived and conceived dimensions of writing centre spaces largely uphold colonial logics, the lived space concurrently fosters moments of resistance, hybridity, and creativity. Specifically, students and tutors challenge dominant norms through translanguaging, code-switching, and the integration of indigenous knowledge systems. These practices accentuate the transformative potential of writing centres as sites of epistemic justice. The article concludes by offering context-specific strategies for reimagining writing centre spaces, tutor training, and multilingual practices to promote greater inclusion and decolonial transformation in postcolonial higher education. Though situated in the South African context, its insights are applicable to other multilingual and postcolonial settings globally. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/11189/10813 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/11189/10812 Title: Integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy into writing centre pedagogy: a reflective practitioner’s perspective Authors: Nendauni, Lutendo Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, and QuillBot are increasingly shaping how students write and learn in higher education. While these technologies offer valuable support for grammar, idea generation, and stylistic experimentation, they also raise complex questions about authorship, integrity, and access. Drawing on my experiences as a writing centre practitioner at a South African university of technology, I explore in this reflective essay how AI is transforming academic writing consultations, workshops, and tutor development. This essay identifies common student misconceptions, gaps in tutor preparedness, and tensions arising from unclear institutional policies. Building on these reflections, I propose context-sensitive strategies including consultation prompts, workshop activities, and tutor training interventions, to foster ethical and critical engagement with AI in writing support. The essay contributes to ongoing conversations on how writing centres in the Global South can mediate responsible and equitable AI use while nurturing student agency and academic integrity. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/11189/10812 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z