Dr Aretha Maposa
Dr Aretha Maposa is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI), Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand. Her current research examines the relationship between African philanthropy, transformative leadership, knowledge systems and social investment in higher education. In particular, she is interested in how philanthropic relationships influence research priorities, […]
Dr Aretha Maposa is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI), Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand. Her current research examines the relationship between African philanthropy, transformative leadership, knowledge systems and social investment in higher education. In particular, she is interested in how philanthropic relationships influence research priorities, institutional development and the authority of African universities to shape their own knowledge and transformation agendas.
Her emerging work develops the concept of epistemic investment to examine whether philanthropic support provides resources alone or also strengthens the agenda-setting authority, intellectual leadership and long-term capacity of African knowledge institutions. Through this work, she contributes to debates on African higher-education futures, epistemic justice and socially responsive institutional transformation.
Dr Maposa’s broader areas of expertise include education leadership and management, teacher education, research methodology, curriculum and knowledge production. Her academic work is informed by a commitment to African-centred scholarship and to strengthening the relationship between research, policy and practice. She is also an experienced lecturer, postgraduate research supervisor, academic editor and education practitioner.