‘Fit for change’: a preliminary exploration of the relationship between academic literacy practitioners and disciplinary specialists as a complex system
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Date
2013
Authors
Cattell, Karin
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Education, University of the Free State
Abstract
At tertiary institutions in South Africa and internationally, academic literacy
practitioners and disciplinary specialists have traditionally functioned as separate
communities of practice. However, research indicates that academic literacy is most
successfully acquired when it is integrated into and taught within the contexts of
specific academic disciplines. This article explores the transgression of the boundaries
between academic literacy teaching and study disciplines, in general, and the
subsequent broadening of the social structures within which academic disciplines
function at tertiary institutions. The relationship between academic literacy
practitioners and disciplinary specialists at Stellenbosch University is correspondingly
investigated as a complex system, focusing on the variable and non-linear interaction
among the co-evolving components of the system and its environment, the emergent
structure of the resultant transdisciplinary community of practice, and the ‘fitness’
of this community – its ability to cope with the challenges and opportunities brought
on by constant change. The article will demonstrate the contribution that a complex
systems approach could make to the collaboration between academic literacy
practitioners and disciplinary specialists at tertiary institutions, in general, and at
Stellenbosch University, in particular, and subsequently, to an understanding of the
collective focus on student success in these two communities of practice.
Description
Keywords
Academic literacy practitioners, Disciplinary specialists, Complex system, Relationality, Change, Fitness
Citation
Cattell, K. (2013). 'Fit for change': a preliminary exploration of the relationship between academic literacy practitioners and disciplinary specialists as a complex system. Perspectives in Education, 31(4), 5-14.