Symposium: Ubuntu and the Creation of Sustainable Learning Environments
Date: April 14
Time: 6 to 8 pm
Location: OISE 252, Bloor St W, Toronto
Chair: Jamie Magnusson, Ph.D., (OISE/UT)
Panelists
Sechaba MG Mahlomaholo, Ph.D. (University of the Free State, South Africa)
Dipane Hlalele, Ph.D. (University of the Free State, South Africa)
Milton Nkoane, Ph.D. (University of the Free State, South Africa
Dolana Mogadime, Ph.D. (Brock University, Canada)
The symposium ‘Ubuntu and the Creation of Sustainable Learning Environments’ discusses the ongoing work of Professor Mahlomaholo who leads a National Research Foundation project in South Africa. Contributing members include 15 academics, 65 graduate students and community members. The project stands as a testimony for “the value and power of building partnerships for praxis among universities, schools, the Departments of Basic Education and Higher Education and training, social and rural development agencies as well as other instances of civil society” (Francis, Mahlomaholo & Nkoane, 2010). The panelists revisit the work using the lens of ‘Ubuntu’ an African humanistic epistemological approach which holds possibility for reshaping and contextualizing the meaning of social justice within concepts that are indigenous to Africa and the Diaspora.
Questions that will be explored include the following:
- How do we enhance the quality of education using Ubuntu?
- How do we theorize and apply Ubuntu within graduate cultures and mentor relationships?
- How do we theorize research methods/ and social justice approaches in relation to Ubuntu in ways that improve teaching practice and learning?
- How do we ground Ubuntu in community leadership and among social agency partnerships?
- How can Ubuntu support governance in schools?
