Towards an appropriate pedagogy for community psychology: the University of South Africa experience

Abstract

This article describes a new approach to teaching community psychology. Rather than attempting to “transmit” a body of knowledge, students’ intellectual and creative abilities are drawn upon to recruit them for the project of “re-imagining” communities and community psychology. The article describes the development and implementation of new courses at second- and third-year, as well as honours levels. Students are encouraged to move from experience to theory, rather than from theory to experience, in order to develop their own authentic voice in contributing to the sub-discipline, and to become part of a collaborative network of community psychology students and practitioners.