Co-Authorship in Research Contributes to SAs Education System
Co-Authorship in Research Contributes to SAs Education System
School of Education academics, Dr Ntokozo Mkhize-Mthembu and Dr Makie Kortjass’s co-authorship of the paper titled: Drawing as a Method for Educators Researching Childhoods: Insights from South Africa serves as a demonstration of the duo’s commitment to transforming South Africa’s educational history at the British Educational Research Association (BERA) Symposium.
The BERA is famed for providing opportunities to network with existing and new research, fostering collaborative relationships, exchanging ideas, and establishing connections with potential publishers.
The duo’s presentation discussed the methodological discoveries of two South African practitioner-researchers who studied childhoods through drawing. Kortjass, a teacher educator, surveyed student teachers about their childhood mathematics learning experiences and Mthembu studied social and emotional learning in her primary school classroom with Grade 4 children as participants.
Professor Kathleen Pithouse-Morgan of the University of Nottingham explored the implications for practitioner-researchers hoping to contribute to educational change that benefits children while considering the methodological promise and complexities of using drawings made by educators and their students (both adults and children) in researching childhoods in contexts like South Africa with painful educational histories.
Mthembu said the symposium contributed to transnational and transdisciplinary knowledge-making. It spanned diverse arts-based and social science research fields and promoted using arts-based methods of broadcasting educational and human science research.
An optimistic Kortjass said, ‘Presenting our innovative work using arts-based methods at BERA validated the importance of collaboration and interaction. We were well-received at the symposium and will be forging more collaboration with diverse scholars around the world.’
Mthembu described the symposium as a nurturing environment for presenting research, gaining valuable experience, and gaining a voice at national and international level. ‘It allowed for the practice of presentation skills, discussions on international educational research, and receiving constructive feedback. It also allowed for connections with emerging and seasoned researchers from diverse contexts,’ she added.
The upcoming BERA Conference, scheduled from 8 to 12 September 2024, will be held at the University of Manchester.
Words: Sinoyolo Mahlasela
Photograph: Supplied
