Towards anchoring hope

Over the last three decades universities across the world have increasingly come under pressure to address inequalities. In South Africa inequalities emanate to a great extent from the country's apartheid past. It is against this background that the Vice-chancellor of Stellenbosch University co...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inSouth African journal of higher education Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 168 - 182
Main Authors Van Louw, T., Beets, P.A.D.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Higher Education South Africa (HESA) 01.01.2011
Unisa Press
Subjects
Educational Philosophy
Educational Practices
Equal Education
Foreign Countries
Psychological Patterns
Racial Segregation
Social Responsibility
South Africa
Teaching Methods
Universities
South Africa
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Over the last three decades universities across the world have increasingly come under pressure to address inequalities. In South Africa inequalities emanate to a great extent from the country's apartheid past. It is against this background that the Vice-chancellor of Stellenbosch University commits the institution to 'education for social responsibility' and the 'application of [her] resources to the needs of local and global communities' as the university repositions itself to contribute to development and equality through what he calls a 'Pedagogy of Hope'. In this article, Prof Botman's notion of a Pedagogy of Hope is critically analised against an understanding of the Freirian notion of a Pedagogy of Hope. The authors come to the conclusion that the greatest reason to have hope for Stellenbosch University probably lies in acknowledging that Botman's 'Pedagogy of Hope' emanates from and is embedded in Freire's idea that hope alone is not sufficient. Hope only becomes meaningful when there is a commitment to move beyond rhetoric towards strategic action - to anchor hope in practice.
ISSN:1011-3487
1753-5913