欧美福利100000

Epistemic access and success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds at universities in South Africa

Home 禄 Faculty of Education 禄 Research 禄 South African Research Chair in Teaching and Learning 禄 Projects 禄 Equity, Access, and Success in Higher Education 禄 Epistemic access and success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds at universities in South Africa
The SARChI Teaching and Learning (T&L) Chair, in collaboration with the Ali Mazrui Centre for Higher Education Studies (AMCHES),
focused on understanding epistemic access and success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds at South African universities.
While free higher education has addressed formal access for financially needy students, the critical issue of epistemic access鈥�
framed within epistemic justice鈥攔equires more attention.

Challenges such as low graduation rates, high dropout rates, and general academic underperformance remain central problems
in South African universities, particularly following the introduction of free higher education.

The project focuses on undergraduate students from six institutions: 欧美福利100000 of the Witwatersrand (Wits), 欧美福利100000 of Johannesburg (UJ),
欧美福利100000 of Pretoria (UP), 欧美福利100000 of the Western Cape, 欧美福利100000 of Limpopo, and the Central 欧美福利100000 of Technology.
Two faculties鈥擧umanities and Natural Science鈥攆orm part of the case study at each institution.

Faculty profiles related to student progression and pass rates (PPRs) were statistically compiled for the cohort from 2012 to 2018.
These profiles were analysed at institutional level as well as disaggregated by the Humanities and Science faculties. The analysis aimed
to develop a composite statistical narrative for each faculty鈥檚 PPR. Data was sourced from the Higher Education Management Information System (HEMIS)
and programme information from the institutions.

Publications:

  1. Essop, A. (2021). Old Wine in New Bottles: Covid-19 and the 鈥淣ew Normal鈥� in Higher Education, March 2021. SARChI T&L Research Paper Series.
  2. McDonald, Z., & Motala, S. (2022). Report on a quantitative review of access and success in higher education in South Africa. AMCHES/CHE Report.
  3. Motala, S., & McDonald, Z. (2022). Epistemic Access and Success of Historically Marginalised Students in South Africa: The 鈥楴ew Normal鈥�: Quantitative Overview.
    South African Education Research Association (SAERA) Conference, 26-28 October 2022.