Environmental education scholarship in a 'marketised' setting: A case study in a university environmental education programme |
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| Authors: | Chris Reddy Danie Schreuder |
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| Institution: | University of Stellenbosch , Stellenbosch, South Africa |
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| Abstract: | For more than a decade the traditional roles of universities and the traditional and conventional views of scholarship (academic work) have been called into question. These shifts in the academe have led to the introduction of various forms of practice, which has often resulted in conflicting viewpoints and tensions. Restructuring in higher education in South Africa (as elsewhere) has been linked to global, social and economic trends and a general decrease in revenue for universities from state sources (Jansen, 2001; Mora & Villarreal, 2001). This has forced universities into an entrepreneurial culture which has had far reaching implications for the work of academics. This has led to conflict between intrinsic work motivation and working towards extrinsic reward systems. In this paper we describe a university-based case study which demonstrates how a practice of scholarship in environmental education can be in conflict with conventions related to the construct of scholarship at institutional and broader academic levels in a 'marketised' environment. In terms of our experience we argue for a broader view of scholarship which focuses on more than 'brownie points' and 'bean counts' and includes service rendered to various academic communities as indicators for scholarly practice and scholarship in environmental education. |
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