‘Marginalised Access’ in South African Higher Education: Black Women Academics Speak!

Juliet Ramohai

doi:10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p2976

Abstract

Within the complex social dynamics of transformation in South African higher education, increasing access of previously marginalised groups of black people and women cannot be over-emphasised. The need for higher education institutions in South Africa to open their doors to all and specifically, to black women academics has been an issue of discussion by the Department of Higher Education and scholars since the dawn of democracy in 1994. Drawing on critical race theory in analysing the lived experiences of black women academics in a historically white university, this study seeks to understand their perspectives about how the university manages the increasing number of black women academics and, most importantly, whether it ensures their successful participation in institutional spaces. While access of previously marginalised groups to higher education has increased, the findings of this study indicate that social and cultural practices, as well as institutional structures at the university act as a barrier to black women’s successful participation. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p2976

Highlights

Social spaces are not blank and open for anybody to occupy
The university opened its doors to previously marginalised groups, the findings indicate that social, cultural, and institutional practices create barriers that hamper the successful participation of black women academics
The concerns of black women academics focus on opportunities for professional development, which was raised by the Council for Higher Education (2010) in evaluating the status of women in higher education

Summary

Introduction

Social spaces are not blank and open for anybody to occupy. Over time, through processes of historical sedimentation, certain types of bodies are designated as being the ‘natural’ occupants of specific spaces...Some bodies have the right to belong in certain locations, while others are marked out as trespassers, who are, in accordance with how both spaces and bodies are imagined politically, historically, and conceptually circumscribed as being ‘out of place’. This excerpt from Puwar (2004) illustrates an important issue of social exclusion or the marginalisation of people within a social space in which some are considered legitimate members or citizens, while others are considered less legitimate and do not have an equal footing in the daily activities of the community. This excerpt scrutinises the concepts of sharing and citizenship, which should underlie any successful endeavour regarding access to higher education. This paper argues that, while institutions of higher education in South Africa, previously white Afrikaans-medium (language) institutions, have opened their doors to historically marginalised groups, there are social and cultural practices and institutional structures that invalidate the presence of black women academics

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