Community voices in university-community engagement in Africa

Abstract

Research on university-community engagement has gained traction in recent years globally. Yet, despite that growth of scholarship, no previous study in Africa has abridged the community partners’ voices in university-community engagement, leaving evidence of its relational challenges scattered and inconclusive. Guided by the PRISMA procedures, this scoping review cross-examined 17 empirical studies retrieved from electronic databases to locate the community partners’ voices in university-community engagement. The review was directed by two questions: (a) what issues and tensions in community engagement do community partners’ voices raise? And (b) what lessons can we draw from the community partners’ voices regarding community engagement? Our thematic analysis reveals that community engagement is disconnected from community concerns; research is not taken back to the community; Indigenous languages and knowledge systems are marginalised; and community voice is often relegated and untapped in initiating and leading the projects, leading to community disengagement. Policy implications are proposed.