The praxis and paradoxes of community engagement as the third mission of universities. A case of a selected South African university

Abstract

Community Engagement (CE) is universities’ third mission (TM), with teaching and learning, and research as the first and second. Although endorsed as the TM of universities and despite clear policy mandates, CE is largely neglected in several South African universities for several reasons. There is growing pressure for universities to partake in CE in order to align their various disciplinary diversity and resources to connect with the broader society and produce socially engaged and responsible graduates. The long-term benefits of CE are linked to knowledge creation, improved community practices and improved social justice. The article aimed to explore academic staff members’ understanding of CE, its execution in the institution and its challenges. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data, and data were analysed using thematic analysis. The study concluded that there are conceptual contradictions in academics’ view of CE and there is a mismatch between what is defined as CE and the actual practice. The CE challenges include lack of institutional guidance, lack of understanding on measuring its effectiveness, neglect, the uncertainty of who should conduct it and lack of finances channelled towards it. To curb the challenges, a clear conceptual framework/policy should be generated that stipulates a clear definition of CE, how to conduct it and which staff should engage communities. Finally, considering that CE benefits students, researchers and communities, provision for its funding should be made by universities to curb financial constraints.