Decolonising knowledge: Enacting the civic role of the university in a community-based project

<h2>Abstract</h2> <p>The need to work in partnership with communities in a meaningful and impactful way has become a core part of university planning, in many countries around the world. In the Global South, the potential for the Eurocentric knowledges and power structures to dominate such partnerships is pervasive. </p> <p><br></p> <p>This article reports on findings of a participatory action research project conducted with community members in a socio-economically disadvantaged community in South Africa who had identified a need to improve school-community cooperation in educating local children. Analysis of our findings, framed against broader cultural and historical contexts, suggests that when the role of university-based ‘experts’ is one of facilitation rather than ‘delivery,’ then not only is participation more effective, but, also, the process and products of knowledge democratisation can be realised more effectively. </p> <p><br></p> <p>We thus provide unique insight into the way relationships between the university and the community can be reconceptualised, from a position of knowledge and epistemic hierarchy to one of epistemic democracy. We discuss the (civic) role of the university in enabling this co-construction of knowledge, and in developing the shared meanings and understandings that promote decolonisation and enable social change. </p>