Fiona Anciano UWC - Appendix A

Fiona Anciano UWC

Appendix A: Selected elements from the report on POL 701 Field Visits

POL 701 Field Visits Report

Department of Political Studies

March 2018

Activities: Meetings, area tour, informal interviews and observation.

Location: -Khayelitsha (PJS Informal Settlement), Cape Town and Salt River, Cape Town

Date(s): 20 and 22 February 2018

Participants: Political Science Honours Class 2018

Lead Facilitator: Fiona Anciano, PhD.

Report Authored with : Mmeli Dube, PhD candidate, Department of Political Studies

Number of participants: Khayelitsha, PJS Informal Settlement—11 (7 students and 4 faculty members).

Salt River—14 (13 students, 1 faculty staff member).

Introduction/Background

The Political Studies Honours students went on a field visit to PJS section of Khayelitsha and parts of Salt River, respectively. Students were tasked to apply the theory they had covered, particularly note research ethics-related issues, observe ways in which residents engage with the government and identify potential areas of research. The field work was supported through an ongoing partnership between University of the Western Cape’s Department of Political Studies and the CIVICS network, to experiment with new forms of conducting social science research into new channels of citizen involvement in government—the extant ‘revolutionary transformation of democracy’. The visits were part of the ongoing pedagogical changes in the delivery of the Research Methods module to Honours students. The overall aim is to give them a more hands-on research experience.

The re-structuring of the module delivery approach has also been influenced by the ongoing intellectual dialogue on the form of pedagogies for active, experiential and reflective forms of learning in research methods (Kilburn et al., 2014). The social and political role of universities and practice of research in relationship to the state and society in South Africa (Lalu, 2012; Oldfiled, 2015) has also had a bearing on the pedagogical framing of the research methods module. The visit gave the students a brief first-hand experience of research practice and forms part of a process of preparing them for various fieldwork methods to be covered in the module.

Social scientists are increasingly calling for researchers to produce agendas and knowledges that do not merely address what is theoretically exciting or trendy here, but also cogently take account of the strategic and intimate politics that characterize contemporary notions of urban politics (Oldfield, 2015; Nagar, 2002 in Oldfield). Social sciences have managed to become a reliable and respected source of knowledge about the social realm, and owe part of their growth to their promise of providing concrete solutions to social problems. Logically, political science students cannot be stationed at the proverbial ‘ivory tower’ and imbibe theory alone, without appreciating the practical side of things. The field visits were thus meant to set a tone for young researchers who are able to relate better with community proponents of the channels of citizen involvement in government and begin reflecting on what is considered political by the communities that UWC works with.

Development Action Group (DAG), a non-profit organisation working with community leaders and organisations, facilitated the visits to both sites. DAG works across South Africa to ‘unlock opportunities to access basic services, land, tenure rights and affordable housing’. In Khayelitsha and Salt River, the organization is implementing the Informal Settlement Engagement and Active Citizens Training Program, respectively, with the aim of equipping community leaders with leadership skills. The programs seek to turn the leaders into effective agents of change with the capacity of to increase effectiveness of residents’ involvement in government. In Khayelitsha, DAG facilitated the meetings with community leaders of PJS Section, and the ward Councilor. In Salt River, DAG facilitated a students’ tour of the suburb where DAG has been mentoring the leaders of the local Residents Association and also using ‘participatory design as a tool for advocacy and socio-spatial transformation’. This has been in response to the evictions from the area as a result of urban re-generation (gentrification).

Assignment Requirements for Students:

Assignment 1:

Reflective site visit report 5% Due Thursday 1 March

After your visit to a research/ community site you will need to write a reflective report. The report must reflect on what you observed in the site visit and how your observations can be framed as a problem for investigation. You can also refer to the readings provided on the site you visited. Once a problem is identified you must turn the 'problem' into a research hypothesis and research question.

In the reflective report you must also look at the ethics of research, and reflect on this in respect to your site visit. Finally reflect on your personal experiences in visiting the site. Did it challenge any of your views, were you comfortable observing and listening, or not, and why?

Submit in class and electronically to the Ikamva course site. Please write up to 1000 words and reference correctly.

Assignment 2:

Community in the class presentation 5% Thursday 15 March in class

After you have completed the site visit and submitted your reports you will be divided into groups. Each group will have to present a summary of their combined reflective reports to the community organisations members you visited. They will come to UWC to hear your presentations.

As a group you will have to choose a research problem, outline the main issues to research and provide a research question and hypothesis. You must also present on the ethics of fieldwork and on your experience of the research site visit. You will be asked questions after your group presentations.

Student reflections:

"POL 701 gave budding researchers their first taste of fieldwork. However, being in the field with our colleagues yielded a very different experience. It enabled students to share their observations and bounce ideas off each other, stimulating collective active learning "

"I was part of the group that travelled with Dr. Anciano to the community of Salt River for our community visit. Thinking back on the actual visit as a pedagogical exercise highlights several positive sentiments that I have harbored toward that kind of exercise in research and teaching it as a course. The first aspect of the field trip that proved to be off value was the field trips taking place in two separate groups. The feature of groups is maintained, and so is a diversity of opinions. The (equal) split of two groups to two sites allowed for the feedback and subsequent discussion through the presentations to be of substance. As evidenced by the members of the community, the analysis was meaningful to their lives and their quest for social empowerment.

The second highlight of the way in which the field trip conducted was the range of research questions that resulted from the differences in the two groups. What this meant was that the spectrum of research questions was broad as a result of the varied opinions within two markedly different circumstances. I am able to complete my experience of the field visit through the thoughts and perspectives of my contemporaries, as their inputs were of high value. Overall the entire field trip experience (as I conceptualize it from the trip itself to its research implications) was wonderful. I have no postgraduate experience but coming from two different tertiary environments I can say with confidence that my experience at the University of the Western Cape will prove to be one of my best if the standard is maintained. "

"In 2018, even though I was done with my coursework, Dr Anciano invited me on several fieldtrips she organised for her Honours/Masters students. Instead of limiting her teaching to the classroom environment she involved a civil society organisation (DAG: Development Action Group) to host Honours/masters students on fieldtrips to Salt River and Khayelitsha. These fieldtrips allowed students exposure to real fieldwork and the problematisation of very real social science issues. This method of bringing to the front the dynamics of social science research included exposure to stakeholders outside of academia. In the concluding presentations of the students involved there was a clear understanding of how to go about doing research in this fashion. This understanding developed by the students concerned would have taken much longer to achieve if the module was restricted to the classroom. The students also walked away with a much greater appreciation of research around social justice issues- particularly underdevelopment and gentrification respectively. "

"The thought of having to have to conduct research can be very daunting, whether it is research that does not need one to go out into the field and conduct interviews, observations etc. or it is research that requires one to have to take the initiative to have to find participants and interview them. If one does not have the right tools and a good teacher that will be able to guide you swiftly and sufficiently throughout your research processes then one will most likely be restricted when trying to conduct research.

Dr. Anciano, being a fieldwork researcher herself is gradually enabling us with the tools that we may or not need when we have to conduct research in the near future (second semester). We, as the class of 701, recently went on a site visit, one half went to a community in Khayelitsha called PJS, and the other half went to Salt River, a community in Woodstock. The aim of us going to these communities was to gain some experience of conducting research, what it means to conduct research, i.e. the ethics of conducting research, when to ask questions, and most importantly how to ask the questions. In addition, after we visited the communities, we had to present back to the community members about our experiences and observations. What this has taught us is that research can be continuous process, especially when there is practical engagement involved.

This form of teaching is different but practical. Instead of having to formally engage with the lecturer every week and only discuss theoretical aspect of research and discuss, without practicing the practical part of research. It gets the student interested in the work that they are doing, and could sway the perception of research that the student had and could have in the future."

Images from the site visits

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