Mrs K. Schmidt

As a social worker who is passionate about social justice in particular where children are maltreated I worked in the field of child protection, adoption and family care for ten years before returning to academics to complete my Masters Degree. As a senior lecturer I am currently the coordinator for the first year social work programme where I have a special interest in teaching,  supporting and inspiring the first year social work students as they adjust to the demands of the academic programme. I am also coordinating some of the departmental activities for work integrated learning opportunities within the University Capacity Development Project.  I am most proud of having completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Higher Education and Training as this training encouraged a process of self-development and growth in me as a teacher as well as providing me with a solid theoretical foundation to teaching and learning.  In 2018 I completed a Wheelock Certificate Diploma in Early Childhood Education, further increasing my knowledge with regards to early childhood development and the process of curriculum development that will be needed when UFH offers formal training in this area. Although my love for teaching and learning is my first priority, I also enjoy research and my research interests and publications relate to the fields of  social work training, early childhood development and vulnerable children. In 2019 I co-edited and co-authored an early childhood development text that further inspired my interest in early childhood and shaped my PHD research. I am currently completing my PHD which is focused on the development of an early childhood home visiting programme to support vulnerable children in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.  I am very privileged to be a part of the University Staff Doctoral Programme with scholars from Rhodes University as I walk this journey of completing my PHD.  The University of Fort Hare (UFH) has been my home for the last eleven years, as with any home there have been highs and lows but the one thing I will always appreciate about UFH is the opportunity it has given me to learn and grow as an academic. These learnings have truly shaped all areas of my life, teaching me that with hard work and perseverance anything is possible.