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30 March 2021 | Story Cornelle Scheltema-Van Wyk
A cover image of the Perspectives in Education journal
Perspectives in Education (PiE) is one of the University of the Free State’s (UFS) accredited academic journals. Hosted on KovsieJournals with eight other accredited titles published by the UFS, PiE is a fully open-access journal, which means that all articles are freely available on the internet immediately after publication. A professional, peer-reviewed journal, PiE represents a variety of cross-disciplinary interests, both theoretical and practical, seeking to stimulate important dialogue and intellectual exchange on education and democratic transition with respect to schools, colleges, non-governmental organisations, universities, and universities of technology in South Africa and beyond.

Moving to the South Campus for Open Distance Learning 

The latest issue looked at the seismic disruptions brought about by COVID-19 in 2020, and the global challenges for education systems to promote and continue meaningful learning. Schools and colleges across the globe were closed, and teachers, students, schools, universities, and education planners had to create contingency plans. In the scholarly community, COVID-19 unsettled what we know, how we come to know, and how we should proceed from here onwards. It was the opportune moment for re-invigorated interrogation, rethinking discussion, and replanning education. An opportunity to rethink teaching and learning, the organisation of educational institutions, and the structure and workings of education systems, as well as to reflect once again on the objectives of education, and the interrelationship between education and society.

The issue features many national and international authors – from the UFS to authors from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Israel, Brazil, and Haiti. Its diverse content comes from a relatively new editorial team. Prof Jan Nieuwenhuis’ first issue as editor-in chief was published in 2020. The move to the South Campus for Open Distance Learning was accompanied by the journal’s application to be included in the internationally renowned accreditation list, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). The DOAJ has strict inclusion criteria, and to be included on this list is a mark of a high-quality open-access academic journal. 

Just over a year after moving, PiE is now included in the DOAJ list and appears on four accredited lists (also DHET, IBSS, and Scopus). The journal has firmly cemented its place in the field of education and is broadening the reach of research for the University of the Free State

News Archive

The book on ‘Reitz’ still not closed
2016-08-12

Description: IRSJ book Tags: IRSJ book

Prof André Keet, Director: Institute for Reconciliation and
Social Justice (IRSJ) with the authors of Transformation
and Legitimation in Post-apartheid Universities: Reading
Discourses from ‘Reitz’, JC van der Merwe and
Dionne van Reenen.

A new IRSJ book tackles issues of transformation.

Transformation and Legitimation in Post-apartheid Universities: Reading Discourses from ‘Reitz’ is the first in a series on critical studies in higher education transformation from the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice (IRSJ). In his introduction to this series, Prof André Keet, Director: Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice (IRSJ), highlights why a scholarly work of this nature was necessary: “Acts of resistance against structurally-anchored forms of exclusion within universities in both South Africa and elsewhere suggest that, despite our best efforts, the social structure of the academy … has remained more or less intact over the past several decades.” The book was recently launched during the fifth anniversary reflections of the IRSJ.

Transformation and Legitimation in Post-apartheid Universities: Reading Discourses from ‘Reitz’ explores and expands on the landmark “Reitz” incident. The authors, JC van der Merwe, Deputy-Director at the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice (IRSJ) and Dionne van Reenen, researcher and PhD candidate at the IRSJ, offer insights on how this incident and the events surrounding it represent a recurring pattern that continues to underpin many processes in post-apartheid South Africa.

Prof Jonathan Jansen, Chair of the Advisory Board of the IRSJ, and Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, says of the authors: “The courage of their convictions is reflected in this book. They have played, and will continue to play, an amazing role in shaping the discourse around transformation.”

Jamie Turkington, former editor of the IRAWA Post during the time of the ‘Reitz’ incident and facilitator during the five-year anniversary function, says: “This book will be beneficial for every student and every person involved in the University of the Free State since 1980 till now to read and absorb the valuable points therein. If you thought Reitz was over, it shouldn’t be; it is as relevant today as ever.”

"If you thought Reitz was over..."

Turkington adds that the book will serve as a “worthwhile conversation starter at UFS”, raising such questions as:
• How much legitimacy was the UFS able to acquire internally, within the university community, as well as in society at large?
• How do we chart a way forward from here?
• How do we keep the progress going?

As the book itself says: “Reitz serves as a reminder to higher education practitioners that our humanity is fragile in terms of who we are and what we can achieve. Transformation and legitimation, and the way higher education institutions handle these going forward, promises to be seminal in the foreseeable future of the sector.”

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