Scholarship at universities in South Africa tends to focus on access to higher education, fees, decolonisation, and curricula. All these topics are essential and contribute to the literature on South African universities, particularly in post-Apartheid, where the imbalances created by Apartheid had to be explicitly addressed by the post-Apartheid governments within university education, where Black people had minimal access to universities. However, this contribution critically discusses an issue that does not appear significant at face value. The article addresses access to safe and affordable transport for students, especially young women, or what is also referred to in this paper as female students residing in working-class areas in Johannesburg. The paper uses in-depth interviews with students to demonstrate that access to safe and reliable transport continues to elude students and young women in university education. Sexual harassment and violence are stories told by interviewees longing for safe and affordable transport as they commute to and from campuses in Johannesburg.

The research focuses on creating and validating the Causes of Data Fabrication Scale (CDFS) to understand the reasons behind data fabrication in educational research. Initially comprising 38 items, the scale was refined to 27 items based on expert input and content validity. Using a sample of 143 educators, the study employed rigorous statistical methods, identifying five key factors contributing to data fabrication: researcher-related issues, institutional factors, respondent influences, funding challenges, and research competence. Despite slight deviations in some item loadings, their significance in literature and expert agreement justified their inclusion. Overall, the study offers a crucial tool for scholars to investigate data fabrication causes, enhancing academic integrity in educational research.

Higher education plays a pivotal role in the socioeconomic advancement of individuals and societies, yet attrition rates among Black African students in South African universities remain disproportionately high. This paper explores the multifaceted relationship between financial obstacles and attrition among Black African students. Drawing on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory, the study explores how financial challenges contribute to the attrition rate of Black African students. Using a qualitative approach, the study sought to unveil the complex dynamics underlying the persistence of financial obstacles among Black African students. An interview schedule was used to comprehend the impact of these obstacles on students’ educational journeys and ultimate attrition. The findings from this study reveal that financial constraints prevent Black African students from meeting basic needs, leading to academic struggles and high dropout rates. These challenges, framed by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, hinder students’ ability to achieve academic success and personal growth. The study recommends improving financial support systems, including addressing the “missing middle” and providing comprehensive aid to ensure Black African students meet their basic and academic needs.

University students’ experiences and attitudes about a program of study and their career choices are to a greater extent influenced by their secondary school experiences. These experiences also apply to science subjects including chemistry. This research, therefore, sought to explore university students’ experiences of secondary school chemistry education by examining their background variables as related to the pursuing of general science program. In this study participants reported different experiences and perceptions of science education in general and chemistry lessons in particular during their secondary school years. Using a mixed method research approach, 260 university students from the Greater Accra region of both urban and rural areas were surveyed and interviewed. Descriptive statistics and other statistical procedures were used to analyse the data. The results showed that students’ past experiences of science programs and particularly chemistry lessons had significant impact on their decision to study chemistry. It was also found that students’ background variables such as gender, previous secondary school attended (rural/urban) and teachers’ instructional practices had influence on attitudes to pursue a chemistry course. The results provide further evidence of the benefits of the use of well-equipped science laboratories and technology as supporting course resources for science education.

Competency-based higher education aims to equip students with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes necessary for professional practice and lifelong learning. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant adjustments in teaching, assessment and clinical education. This study compares the self-assessed professional competences of graduates of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ljubljana who graduated during the COVID-19 pandemic with those who graduated before the pandemic. Using a structured survey, the graduates assessed 13 core competences that they had acquired during their academic education and clinical practice. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used to compare the cohorts. Although no statistically significant differences in overall competency scores were found between groups, pandemic-era graduates reported slightly lower confidence in competencies acquired through academic training and slightly higher confidence in competencies acquired through clinical practice. Our findings suggest that the blended learning approaches introduced during the pandemic are as effective as traditional face-to-face teaching in promoting skills development. However, the generalisability of the results to the studied group of physiotherapy graduates is limited. The results support further research into virtual and hybrid learning models in physiotherapy education.

The present paper investigates the differences in how meaning is ascribed to studying for the Baccalaureate examination by 12th grade students attending a technological and theoretical track high school in Northwest Romania. Building on ten semi-structured interviews with high school students preparing for the Baccalaureate examination, the present paper argues that the unequal access to high quality academic education in high schools is internalized by students through the ways in which they relate to this exam. Technological and theoretical track students both aspire to attend higher education at some point after graduating. However, whereas theoretical track students view the Baccalaureate as a necessary step that will likely validate their learning efforts already confirmed through their previous educational pathways, technical track students view the Baccalaureate as a serious potential obstacle and major event that will determine their future educational and professional pathway and that makes their aspirational horizon appear uncertain. Students internalize the different preparation received and chances for passing the examination through the ways in which they relate to learning in preparation of the exam. Whereas theoretical track students discuss preparing for the exam as a positive emotional experience, negative emotions prevail in how students from the technological track discuss the same process. Moreover, whereas the aspirational horizons of theoretical track students seem clearly delineated and are discussed as being within their reach, the opposite is true for technological track students that view their academic future as desirable, yet uncertain, and who face pressure to seek paid employment soon after graduation. Our paper seeks to contribute to the debate surrounding the subjective dimension of the reproduction of socioeducational inequalities in the Romanian educational system.

For psychotherapy practice, it has always been important to research what motivates or demotivates individuals to seek and use it. Therefore, our goal was to determine the attitudes of students at the State University of Novi Pazar towards psychotherapy, while understanding potential differences in attitudes between humanities and non- humanities students. Attitudes were measured using the Psychotherapy Scale, and general data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire. The sample consisted of 322 students from 16 study programs. The findings showed that the attitudes towards psychotherapy in our sample are distributed across four components: positive attitude, negative attitude, scepticism and hesitation in seeking psychotherapy services. Students of all study programs are equally reluctant to seek professional help, while positive, negative and sceptical attitudes towards psychotherapy significantly differentiate between humanities and non-humanities students. Additionally, female respondents have significantly higher positive attitude and hesitance towards therapy, as well as significantly lower scores for negative attitude and scepticism towards therapy.

This exploratory conceptual review addresses the challenges between performative diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) in higher education and authentic DEIB training practices. Performative diversity is utilized to express an assurance to DEIB implementation and execution. Conversely, in doing so, performative diversity neglects to provide strategic visioning, planning, investment, policy directives, actions, or empowered individuals to develop and sustain racial equity. Performatives are procedural social practices sanctioned to avoid potential litigation or discontent from clients or stakeholders. A further consideration is how higher education can effectively use online DEIB training strategies to help institutions effectively implement DEIB initiatives and programs. As a result, critical progress has been made in incorporating innovative online DEIB training methods, which are proven to transform learning and DEIB training processes.

This article summarises a frame of grassroots Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that centres on everyday transformation, displacing the opportunistic use of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives as marketing tools. It is based on ethnographic research conducted at the University of Galway (Ireland) from 2018 to 2021. Instead of focusing on the development of KPIs within the policy field or by a panel of experts, the paper fleshes out the collective attempts of rank-and-file staff to judge if, how, and to what extent EDI initiatives have changed the university. Evidence shows that several indicators are effective and already operational amongst staff. Grassroots KPIs serve a dual function: assessing change and expanding EDI goals.