I am a senior lecturer and academic advisor in the Office of Student Success at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Faculty of Health Sciences, in South Africa. Born and raised in rural Zimbabwe, I was first in my family to have a post-secondary qualification, a status that in today’s higher education research made me a first-generation student. My socio-cultural background has greatly influenced my research interests in decolonial methodologies, and my approach to academic advising. My professional background includes teaching and teacher education, culminating in my PhD Science Education research in Indigenous Knowledge Systems. My research interests are multifaceted, ranging from rural education to student university experiences and success, all through the lens of decolonial approaches. I am also exploring the use of self-study as a research methodology, allowing for critical self-reflection and continued growth.
Selected publications Khupe, C., Seehawer, M. & Keane, M. (forthcoming). Decolonising curriculum policy research through community-centredness. Ndofirepi, E. S., & Khupe, C. (2022). Just-in-time pragmatic approaches to enhancing undergraduate student support under Covid-19: Academic advisors’ reflections. Journal of Educational Studies, 2022(si1), 141-157. Seehawer, M., Khupe, C., Keane, M. (2022). On the impossibility of instrumentalising indigenous methodologies for the sustainable development agenda. In: Mbah, M.F., Leal Filho, W., Ajaps, S. (Eds) Indigenous methodologies, research and practices for sustainable development. World Sustainability Series. Springer, Cham. Nyamupangedengu, E., & Khupe, C. (2022). Experiences of Applying for Promotion as Counter-Cultural Transformative Learning. Presented at the 14th International Transformative Learning Conference: Telling, evaluating and deepening our story: Embracing transformation as a rarity. 6-9 April 2022, Virtual, pp. 310-316. Keane, M., Khupe, C., & Mpofu, V. (2022). Reflections on transformation: Stories from Southern Africa. In A. Nicolaides, S. Eschenbacher, P. Buergelt, Y. Gilpin-Jackson, M. Welch, & M. Misawa (Eds.). The Palgrave handbook of learning for transformation, pp. 521-536. Cham: Springer International Publishing. Nyamupangedengu, E., & Khupe, C. (2021). Was it a case of teacher educator entitlement? Revisiting faculty perspective on pre-service teachers' classroom behaviours. In T. Ratnam & C. Craig (Eds). Understanding Excessive Teacher and Faculty Entitlement: Digging at the roots, Vol. 38, pp. 227-240. Emerald Publishing Limited. Reading, C., Khupe, C., Redford, M., Wallin, D., Versland, T., Taylor, N., & Hampton, P. (2019). Educating for sustainability in remote locations. The Rural Educator, 40(2), 43-53.Journal articles. Khupe, C. (2017). Language, participation and indigenous knowledge systems research in Mqatsheni, South Africa. In P. Ngulube (Ed.), Handbook of research on theoretical perspectives on indigenous knowledge systems in developing countries. IGI Global, pp. 100-126 Khupe, C. & Keane, M. (2017). Towards an African education research methodology: Decolonising new knowledge. Education Research for Social Change, 6(1), 25-37. Keane, M., Khupe, C. & Seehawer, M. (2017). Decolonising methodology: Who benefits from Indigenous Knowledge Research? Education Research for Social Change, 6(1), 12-24. Khupe, C., Keane, M., & Cameron, A. (2016). Opportunities for emancipation and transformation through community-centred indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) research. Indilinga African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems, 15(1), 16-27. Keane, M.; Khupe, C. & Muza, B. (2016). It Matters Who You Are: Indigenous knowledge research and researchers. Education as Change, 20(1), 1-28. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/1947-9417/2016/913 Khupe, C., Balkwill, K., Osman, R. & Cameron, A. (2013). A needle in a haystack: A search for value for money in turn-around strategies for schools in difficult circumstances. Educational Research, 55(2), 165-179. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2013.801243 Khupe, C. (2020). Indigenous Knowledge Systems. In B. Akpan and T.J. Kennedy (Eds.), Science Education in Theory and Practice (pp. 451-464). Springer, Cham 6 Nyamupangedengu, E. & Khupe, C. (2018). Why does this distress me? A teacher educator’s response to and reflections on pre-service teachers’ classroom behaviours. In C. D. Garbett & A. Ovens (Eds.), Pushing boundaries and crossing borders: Self- study as a means for researching pedagogy. Herstmonceux, UK: S-STEP, pp. 295-301. 978-0-473-44471-6. Key-note and Panel presentations 1) University of Cambridge Indigenous Studies Discussion Group: Accomplice, Ally, or Appropriator? Exploring Boundaries of Indigenous Scholarship. 13 October 2021. https://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/events/29906/ 2) UNISA College of Graduate Studies Indigenous Epistemology Seminar Series. Indigenous knowledge matters’ and ‘All knowledge matters’: How do we approach cognitive justice in an unjust world? 20 September 2021. 3) GNHRE-UNEP Summer-Winter School. Decolonisation and Protected Areas. 22 June 2021. https://gnhre.org/critical-perspectives-on- human-rights-and-the-environment-the-2021-gnhre-unep-summer-winter- school/2021-summer-winter-school-decolonisation-and-protected-areas/ 4) UNISA College of Graduate Studies Indigenous Epistemology Seminar Series 23 September 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44SImY8_-_c 5) UNISA UNISA College of Economic and Management Sciences, Global Ethics Day celebrations: Transforming research methodology in an African context: Implications for ethics review. 18 October 2018. Awards: I am a co-recipient of the 2022 Jack Mezirow Living Theory of Transformative Learning Award for the paper "Experiences of applying for promotion as counter-cultural transformative learning" co-athoured with Dr Eunice Nyamupangedengu.
Researching education in a globalised world 