Repositioning Writing Centres as Hubs of Academic Agency in South African Higher Education

Abstract

This paper critically interrogates the persistent remedial positioning of writing centres in higher education, with particular reference to South Africa’s multilingual and unequal educational context. Drawing on the academic literacies framework, inclusive pedagogies, and theories of student empowerment, the study challenges deficit discourses that frame writing centres as peripheral “fix-it” spaces for underprepared students. Adopting a conceptual and critical approach grounded in an integrative review and synthesis of South African and international scholarship, the paper reconceptualises writing centres as developmental hubs of academic agency, epistemic access, and institutional transformation. It argues that academic writing should be understood as a socially situated and epistemic practice, rather than a neutral technical skill, and that students should be recognised as active contributors to knowledge production. The paper proposes a set of interrelated strategies for repositioning writing centres, including collaborative curriculum partnerships, dialogic pedagogies, translanguaging practices, feedback literacy development, and intentional rebranding to disrupt stigma and marginalisation. By foregrounding linguistic diversity and academic agency, the paper positions writing centres as central to fostering equity, intellectual engagement, and inclusivity in higher education. It concludes by identifying directions for future empirical research on the implementation and impact of these transformative approaches across diverse institutional contexts.

Keywords: Writing centre, academic literacies, deficit discourses, academic agency, linguistic diversity

DOI: 10.56279/jlle.v19i2.1