The Centre for Social Sciences Research (CSSR) and the  Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa  (IDCPPA) at the University of Cape Town invite you to join us for a lunchtime seminar on 1 October 2024 at 12:45pm. The seminar will be presented by Dr Fatima Williams.

About the Seminar:

Recognition of Prior Learning and Identity Transformation: Experiences of Social Work graduates in the Western Cape

This qualitative study aimed to understand the meaning social work graduates who entered university via Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) attach to their RPL experience and social work education. The goal was to determine whether participation in RPL and studying social work influences identity transformation at a micro level. The researcher intended to address the lacuna in extant knowledge on RPL which focusses on the macro and pedagogical considerations linked to RPL. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) design was used to provide an in-depth understanding of the participants' experiences.

The study included two universities offering social work programmes in the Western Cape. Five participants were purposively selected from each institution and all the participants completed their social work education in the last five years. Three interviews, using semi-structured interview schedules, were conducted with each participant. The interviews were described and analysed using an amalgamation of the six steps of IPA data analysis.

Transformative Learning Theory and Identity Theories were used as theoretical frameworks for the study because these theories address the macro issues related to higher education and account for the internal shifts that university learners can achieve. The results reveal that that RPL promoted significant identity transformation for the participants and the results allude to the potential of RPL to be transformative at a micro level.

Speakers

Fatima convenes the Bachelor of Social Work and teaches the undergraduate and clinical masters programme in her department. She introduced RPL as an access route into the social work programme in 2009 and since then has developed the programme to a point where the Department of Social Work and Social Development has the highest number of UG students admitted via RPL in the Humanities Faculty. Her PhD was borne out of her work with adult learners admitted via RPL.

 1 October 2024
 12:45 - 14:00 SAST
  CSSR Seminar Room, 4.29 Robert Leslie Social Science Building, UCT

Hosted by the Centre for Social Science Research and the Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa