Student experiences of attending the first online Southern African students psychology conference at an open distance e-learning university in South Africa

Abstract

The devastation and aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to pervade almost every sphere of human existence, albeit arguably increasingly nuanced. As we move into the post-pandemic world, it is essential to reflect on the lessons learned and forge transformed, decolonised ways of knowledge production in higher education. To ensure the continuation of academic socialisation, academic conference organizers have had to introduce virtual conferencing during the pandemic. In this article, we discuss the experiences of students who attended the first online Southern African Students Psychology Conference (SASPC) during the pandemic in South Africa within a distance e-learning context. We use academic socialisation as a theoretical framework to understand student experiences attending the first online SASPC and to discuss the student conference as a site for decolonisation. From the focus group discussion with student attendees, the historical and current format of the conference unexpectedly emerged as a colonised space of academic socialisation that the students challenged. Opportunities for using the student conference space as a site of decolonisation are explored to contribute to the dearth of scholarly literature aimed at actively incorporating students’ voices in the decolonisation of academic spaces in the Global South.

Tshenyego le ditlamorago tša leuba la COVID-19 di tšwela pele go aparela mahlakore a mantši a go phela ga batho, le ge ka nako yengwe koketšego ya se e se pepeneneng. Ge re tšwela pele go phela morago ga COVID-19, go bohlokwa go naganišiša ka maitemogelo le go hlama ditsela tše di fetotšwego tša go tlošwa ga bokoloniale tša tšweletšo ya tsebo thutong ya godimo. Go netefatša tšwelopele ya tša thuto, barulaganyi ba dikopano tša thuto ba ile ba swanelwa ke go tsebagatša dikhonferentshe tša mararankonding a inthanete nakong ya leuba. Mo sengwalong se, re ahlaahla maitemogelo a baithuti bao ba bilego karolo ya khonferentshe ya mathomo ya inthanete ya Southern African Students Psychology Conference (SASPC) nakong ya leuba la COVID-19 go la Afrika Borwa, mokgweng wa go ithuta o le kgole wa inthanete. Re šomiša academic socialisation bjalo ka teori go kwešiša maitemogelo a baithuti a go ba karolo ya SASPC ya mathomo ya inthanete le go ahlaahla khonferentshe ya baithuti bjalo ka lefelo la go tloša bokoloniale. Go tšwa poledišanong ka sehlopha le baithuti bao e bilego karolo ya khonferentshe, sebopego sa khonferentshe sa kgale le sa bjale se tšweletše bjalo ka lefelo la dikgopolo tša bokoloniale leo baithuti ba bilego kgahlanong le lona. Ka fao, go lebelelwa menyetla ya go šomiša khonferentshe ya baithuti bjalo ka lefelo la go tloša bokoloniale, go tsenya letsogo go tlhaelelo ya dingwalo tša borutegi tšeo di lebišitšwego go hlohleletša dikgopolo tša baithuti ge go etla go go tloša bokoloniale mafelong a thuto go Borwa bja Lefase.