Background
The Ex-Cell project, funded by the Social Impact grant, launched in May 2021. The Ex-Cell project is a collaborative project between Stellenbosch University, the School of Accountancy, and the Department of Correctional Services. Its aim is to rehumanise learning by focusing on learning's social, ubuntu-focused dimensions – collaboration, community-building and connectedness. This workshop has a theme of empowering participants to be better prepared for the business world by upskilling incarcerated persons and parolees to find employment and developing business plans to allow them to earn a living in the business world after their release. The programme is a free access initiative, open to the general public and therefore to people who are not attending the University. The educational component pilot project entails SU lecturers and incarcerated participants learning with and from each other through dialogue and the sharing of experience.
By promoting educational and economic opportunities for the youth parolees, the project is further guided by the values and strategic themes embedded in SU's Vision 2040 as well as the National Development Plan. Similarly, all stakeholders benefit by learning from one another and sharing ideas, experiences, and knowledge.
Further information
Interested parties can obtain further information about the project in this regard, from:
Ms. Sher-Lee Arendse
Tel: +27 21 808-9941
E-mail: sher@sun.ac.za
Mr. Juan Ontong
Tel: +27 21 808-9230
E-mail: ontongj@sun.ac.za
Postal address: School of Accountancy, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602.
Ex-Cell Workshop 2021
A
partnership between the School of Accountancy (within the EMS Faculty at
Stellenbosch University) and the Department: Correctional Services (DCS)
Background to the establishment of
the workshop
| - 2019 SOTL conference >> Ubuntu Learning Community (by Dr Mary Nel)
- SU students and students in prison studying together under SU academics, learning with and from each other through dialogue and the sharing of experience.
- A transformative learning experiences by allowing interaction with academic peers that they would not normally have come into contact with. Academic colleagues from law, history, economics and English are involved in the design and presentation of the module
- The pedagogical approach - Combination of critical pedagogy, social justice pedagogy and transformative pedagogy, with a focus on critical citizenship.
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Rationale behind the establishment
of such a workshop
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•Provision
of skills training by a higher education institution at a correctional service
facility is limited. •The
workshop is provided free of charge and participants receive a certificate of
attendance for completing the workshop. •Lunch
and snacks, as well as books, are provided to workshop participants free of
charge. •Simultaneous
mandate of Social Impact and Higher Education. •Empowerment
through skills to aid employment problems.
•Criminal
record hinders employment post release & thus hinders reintegration into
society. •Business
Acumen skills based on SOA skills (CA academics). •Why Drakenstein?
Facilities and access to youth.
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Design of the workshop
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Focus: •Business
plan •Finding
employment •Preparing
for an interview
Method of presentation
Augmented Learning Outcome Business plan presentations & mock
job interviews
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Delivery model: Augmented learning
| - Augmented learning (AL) is the use of
real-life experiences, objects and elements that have been recreated on a
computer or mobile device to enhance specific educational concepts. An
important goal of augmented learning is to align the instructional platform
with each learner's individual needs.
- Utilisation of DCS facilities – Classroom &
Equipment.
- Presentation of the workshop consisted of
in person sessions (with the necessary COVID protocols being followed) as well
as virtual presentations in the form of live Teams meetings and
-
pre recorded videos.
- Provision of learning material and
stationery to participants and interactive learning experiences.
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Business
plan presentations: Workshop held in June/July 2021
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Business
plan presentations:Workshop held in June/July 2021
| Business
plan presentations:Workshop held in June/July 2021
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Mock Interviews
| •After
the presentation on interview skills and advice on the do’s and
don’ts of the interview process, participants were given the opportunity to
participate in a mock interview. •Setting
created to demonstrate what a typical interview would be like covering some
common interview questions. •Those
who were “interviewed” were evaluated by their fellow participants on their
performance. •The
group was asked to identify the aspects of the participants’ who were
interviewed that went well and what aspects they thought were not good and
could be improved on. •This
not only gave participants insight into what can be expected in an interview but
provided practical experience on preparing for an interview.
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