Gender and Sexuality Studies

Biography

Dr Zilungile Pearl Mbatha is a lecturer in the Department of Community Development, School of Built Environment and Development Studies (SOBEDS) in the University of KwaZulu-Natal(UKZN). She is also a Registered Counsellor in Psychology in private practice, registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) respectively. Dr Mbatha has extensive experience in teaching, both in Basic Education and Academic environments. She worked mostly with previously disadvantaged students in rural and township schools for 27 years prior to accepting a position as a lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She holds a four-year Diploma in Education, a Bachelor of Arts degree, and an Honours degree in Psychology from the University of South Africa, a Master’s degree in Social Sciences from UKZN. Her PhD thesis in Community and Development Studies from UKZN is titled “Evaluating the effectiveness of refugees integration strategies in South African urban communities in EThekwini and Mbombela.” As a researcher, she has published and is in the process of publishing articles in journals and has presented a paper in an international conference on Safer Cities in 2021. Dr Mbatha teaches modules from first level to third level of study in the department of Community Development and supervises postgraduate students in the same discipline. She is a member of various committees within the school of Built Environment representing her department, among others the Teaching and Learning committee and Community Engagement for Project Renewal.