Epistemological access: a case of academic development programmes at a university of technology

Abstract

South Africa has made significant progress in expanding access to higher education since the end of the apatheid era. This gave opportunities to a larger portion of the population to pursue higher education studies, especially those from previously disadvantaged communities. The growth in student enrollment has not always correlate with academic success. High levels of failure and dropout rates amongst first-year students are a common challenge across universities. This implies that the challenges related to epistemic access at universities persist. To address these challenges, universities implemented academic development programmes providing targeted interventions and fostering a supportive learning environment that can help bridge the gap between formal access to universities and epistemic access. The study that informs this paper sought to explore how academic development programmes enable epistemological access to first-year students. This study employed a qualitative methodological approach and adopted a purposive sampling strategy to select the participants. The study interviewed twenty mentors participating in an academic development programme (mentorship) at a University of Technology. The findings highlights the role of academic development programme (mentorship programme) in enabling students to transition from unfamiliarity to familiarity within their chosen field of study, leading to an epistemic shift that alters their epistemological level. These findings can contribute to the broader discussions and advancements in higher education pedagogy by highlighting the importance of and understanding the mechanisms behind the mentorship programme. The implications of this study on higher education is to inform the design and implementation of effective initiatives that foster epistemological growth and empower students to engage with disciplinary knowledge more effectively