PhD defence
An examination of the suitability of PADev as a method for effective participatory assessment of the development of higher education institutions
- N.A.T. Cesar
- Date
- Thursday 11 December 2025
- Time
- Location
-
Academy Building
Rapenburg 73
2311 GJ Leiden
Supervisor(s)
- Prof.dr. A. J. Dietz
- dr. J. Walenkamp
- Prof.dr. P. V. Langa
Summary
This research is an examination of the suitability of PADev as a method for effective participatory assessment of the development of Eduardo Mondlane University (EMU). Moreover, the PADev experiment conducted at EMU aimed at assessing its development from an inner perspective. As a bottom-up approach that enabled tracking factors and actors that influenced the transformation of the university, its tools allowed tracing events, changes and development interventions implemented at the university in the last 40 decades.
The PADev experiment succeeded in enabling collective reconstruction of the history of the university, particularly the history of the sampled units by making participants who benefited from development interventions recall their experiential and factual knowledge, and therefore build up a shared vision on the development path of EMU.
The research findings concerning the effectiveness of the PADev method showed that the PADev original design conceived as a community development evaluation tool, did not fully suit the assessment of a higher education institution such as EMU. The dimension and complexity of the university processes, organisation and structure jeopardised the successful application of the method. The lack of commitment of the study participants compromised its capability as a method for data gathering. The data collected through PADev alone did not convey the wider context of change and development. Commitment and engagement from participants' side are crucial for the successful use of the PADev method, and, in the EMU context, this was not the case.
PhD dissertations
Approximately one week after the defence, PhD dissertations by Leiden PhD students are available digitally through the Leiden Repository, that offers free access to these PhD dissertations. Please note that in some cases a dissertation may be under embargo temporarily and access to its full-text version will only be granted later.
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