Higher Education In South Africa Research Articles

Exploring Curriculum Transformation in Higher Education Institutions: A Critical Analysis of Equity and Social Justice Perspectives

This paper addresses the imperative of curriculum transformation within higher education in South Africa to confront and mitigate structural inequalities and promote equitable access and outcomes. Drawing upon Fraser's multi-dimensional framework for social justice, the study critically examines the efficacy of curriculum interventions, particularly Education Development initiatives in South Africa. Fraser's framework enables assessing how these interventions address justice dimensions: redistribution, misrecognition, and representation. The analysis reveals that existing interventions predominantly adopt an affirmative rather than transformative approach, primarily focusing on redistributive justice while neglecting misrecognition and representation issues. The study underscores the necessity of embracing a transformative paradigm in curriculum development within South African higher education institutions. A transformative approach necessitates a fundamental reframing of the curriculum, involving reassessing the scale of existing challenges, interrogating underlying assumptions shaping curriculum norms, and re-evaluating the delineation between 'mainstream' and 'other' students. Moreover, it advocates for revisiting the appropriateness of the curriculum for a diverse and pluralistic society. In conclusion, the paper advocates for a comprehensive reframing of the South African higher education curriculum, emphasising the imperative of transformative practices. It proposes recommendations for reformulating the curriculum to address better social justice issues, including embracing inclusivity, challenging prevailing norms, and fostering a curriculum that reflects the diversity and complexities of contemporary society.

Reforming higher education in South Africa by addressing gender inequalities

Introduction: South Africa has a unique history of racial inequality, which in turn contributed to gender inequalities in the country – also within higher education. Gender equality is one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Higher education can contribute to this SDG by setting an example in the community for creating healthy and socially just conditions for their female staff and students. Methods: Female employees from all staff components (academic, support services, and operational staff) of a South African University of Technology participated in focus group discussions to determine their gender equality experiences. Facilitating questions were used to guide the conversations. Thematic analyses of the transcribed focus group discussions were conducted, and emerging themes were explored. Results: Some male colleagues prefer to work solely with other male colleagues, resulting in women being sidelined and feeling voiceless. Female employees reported being harassed by students and having difficulty managing professional and family life. They were also concerned about their future based on their gender. Services staff had positive experiences engaging with male students, staff, and supervisors. Conclusion and implications: It is imperative for higher education institutions’ growth and development and fulfilling their role in contributing to the SDGs that gender equality be prioritised. The unique traditional and cultural burdens of South African women in higher education should be taken into consideration when re-imagining gender equality. By aligning their efforts with the SDGs, universities can contribute to a more equitable and sustainable future, paving the way for transformative change within society.

Decolonization in South African universities: storytelling as subversion and reclamation

Abstract Underscoring recurrent calls for the decolonization of university curricula in South Africa are underexplored presumptions that by only disrupting theoretical content, universities might release themselves from a colonialist grasp, that continues to dominate and distort higher education discourse. While it might be the case that certain theories hold enormous authoritative, ‘truthful’ sway, as propagated through Western interpretations and norms, there are inherent problems in exclusively approaching the decolonization project as a content-based hurdle, removed from the subjectivities of students’ social, lived, and learning realities. The argument advanced in this article is that until the epistemic harm of colonialism and apartheid are afforded careful recognition and attention—as in focusing on the lived experiences, realities, and stories of individuals—the hard work of delegitimizing coloniality, and its implicit structures of hegemonies and binaries cannot unfold. In addressing these harms, I commence by describing some of the contexts of epistemic harm, promulgated through colonialism and apartheid. This is followed by a consideration of decolonization, both as theory and practice-within-context. Here, I also foreground the #Rhodesmustfall campaign, as a particular moment of painful clarity about why decolonization, as well as transformation, has faltered in higher education in South Africa. In the second half, I focus on the necessity of prioritizing storytelling as a deep manifestation of decolonization. Stories, I maintain, provide access into unknown lives, and can subvert the invisible, normative framings, which dictate how we live in this world. As a manifestation of decolonization, students’ stories hold profound implications for the recognition and affirmation of pluralist identities, histories, knowledge, values, and world-views.

Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Advancing Sustainable Development Goals in South Africa's Higher Education System: A Qualitative Study

Artificial intelligence (AI) presents opportunities in transforming higher education system and contribute significantly to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study seeks to leverage AI technologies to advance SDGs within South Africa’s higher education system. It examines AI technology adoption in South African higher education institutions and challenges, strategies, and potential future directions. This qualitative research employed the constructivist principle to unravel the dynamics of AI in advancing SDGs in South Africa. Lecturers from the Department of Information Sciences were the participants of the study. The participants were purposefully selected based on their experience and knowledge of AI technologies. In-depth interview and focused group discussion was employed to generate and estimate responses using thematic content analysis. The result revealed that participants used AI technology to increase students' learning and engagement so students would not doze in class. It was discovered that AI technology has increased the chances for collective learning. The study further proved that AI technology can improve personalized learning experiences of students with diverse learning styles and abilities. This has led to a more inclusive and interactive classroom environment where students feel more motivated and supported in their learning journey. Integrating AI technology into education has shown promising results in improving student outcomes and fostering a more collaborative learning atmosphere. Based on the results, it implies that harnessing AI would advance SDGs in South Africa’s higher education institutions. As such, we recommended that the South African government should formulate comprehensive national AI education policy guidelines for higher education to regulate and harmonize the usage of AI in the higher education system.

Affordability of Higher Education in South Africa

This article investigates why South African universities increased their tuition fees above inflation during the period 2010 to 2019 (intentionally excluding the potential distortion caused by COVID-19). The affordability of higher education is the subject of increased debate among stakeholders in South Africa. From a financial point of view, universities, as typical service organisations, should have benefited from an increase in enrolments. The main reason is that their expenses are typically period costs and are hence less affected by an increase in enrolments. However, the key findings of the study on which this article is based were that revenue increased above inflation, with tuition fees the main culprit. In turn, the reason for increased tuition fees is a significant increase in expenses. This suggests that universities did not benefit from economies-of-scale or efficiency in managing their expenses. The research makes a unique contribution to the body of knowledge by assessing why university tuition fees increased using a financial model to project budgeted revenue, expenses and tuition fees (taking inflation and growth in student enrolments into account) for 2019 using actual financial data from 2010.

Navigating the Marketing Landscape: Strategies for Promoting Private Higher Education Institutions in South Africa

Private institutions in South Africa's higher education sector need effective marketing strategies to attract and retain students amidst competition. This article provides marketing strategies for Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs) in South Africa to navigate a competitive landscape. The objective of the research is to determine the effective media and marketing activities for PHEIs to target a larger market share. The study involved 23 semi-structured interviews with students enrolled at three PHEIs in South Africa. The researcher conducted a thematic analysis to identify patterns from transcribed interviews. Codes were created for each theme, and similar topics were clustered. Microsoft Word and Excel were used for data interpretation and visualisation. ATLAS.ti 22, a CAQDAS software, was employed for further analysis and interpretation. The study suggests that PHEIs in South Africa should prioritise their online presence, websites, and participation in high schools and career fairs to target a larger market share. Marketers should create and adapt their marketing strategies to include various communication channels and methods. Positive word-of-mouth interactions also play a significant role in the marketing efforts of PHEIs, so marketers should focus on developing strategies that generate such interactions.

Internationalisation and the lived experiences of Non-South African postgraduate students in accessing higher education in South Africa

The internationalisation of higher education has resulted in an increase in student mobility from countries of their origin to experience a different kind of education elsewhere. South Africa absorbs most international students within Africa. According to Chasi and Quinlan (2021, 209) the Council for Higher Education reported that 6.5 per cent of the total number of enrolments in universities in South Africa are international students, which is a significant proportion of the student body. The success of these students contributes to raising the profile of South African universities as far as rankings are concerned as well as generating revenue for the institutions. This article explores the lived experiences of postgraduate international students at a university in South Africa. The aim of the article is to identify the opportunities and constraints that students experience, coming from outside South Africa to pursue postgraduate studies. Using Sen’s capability approach, the article endeavoured to unveil conversion factors that international students encounter while studying for their postgraduate programmes. A qualitative approach was employed to generate data through interviews with students who had completed their postgraduate studies. The findings revealed the capability to study as a “doing” that mattered to the students with the intention of ultimately attaining their postgraduate qualifications. Experiences along the way included both enabling and constraining factors such as immigration, cultural adjustments, supervision and institutional factors. There is a compelling need to revisit the processes of admission and immigration regarding international students aimed at benefiting both students and institutions.

Cloud leakage in higher education in South Africa: A case of University of Technology

Background: Users with knowledge of an organisation can pose risks to Cloud Computing, including current and past employees and external stakeholders with access to the organisation’s cloud. These insiders may engage in intentional or unintentional disruptive behaviors, causing significant harm to the organisation. A study focused on insider threats in South African higher education examined the tactics used by cybersecurity leaders to enforce cybersecurity policies.Objectives: The goal of this study was to develop a comprehensive insider mitigation framework for cloud leakage in a South African University.Method: The study employed qualitative methodologies and a case study approach. Open-ended interviews were conducted to collect data from the participants. The collected data was coded and analysed using ATLAS.ti 22.Results: The study’s findings revealed that some of the major sources of cloud leakage are a lack of effective training, ineffective information security (IS) policy regulation, and the implementation of information security awareness workshops that provided advice on how information security should be managed in the university.Conclusion: Insider threats pose a serious risk to organisations. To mitigate this threat, it is crucial for organisations to establish strong security policies and closely monitor employee activities. By conducting a thorough assessment of insider threats, organisations can enhance their understanding of this dynamic threat and strengthen their defenses.Contribution: Although every employee is ultimately responsible for an organisation’s security, the most effective IS programmes demonstrate strong top-level leadership by setting a ‘tone at the top’ and promoting the benefits of IS through careful policy and guidance.

Achieving socio-cultural student engagement through curriculum responsiveness

With democracy came political pressure to promote both academic access and success in higher education in South Africa. However, increased formal access has not necessarily provided meaningful access to previously disadvantaged learners, and this has resulted in high attrition and dropout rates. In response to this, I propose that life-world knowledge can enable meaningful engagement through the pedagogical incorporation of real-world experiences. Therefore, my aim in this study was to determine how curriculum responsiveness could be addressed in pedagogic practices to achieve epistemological access. I used the concept of autonomy to show empirically whether content can be related to a student's socio-cultural context to bring about curriculum responsiveness resulting in better student engagement. Thus, the epistemological stance of this research is qualitative in my drawing on data collected from curriculum documentation for a selected business subject at a University of Technology as the case study, to serve as a guiding principle for considering the appropriate pathways for enabling epistemological access.

Leading higher education transformation: The role of student affairs

Student affairs practitioners and researchers are well positioned to contribute holistically tostudent success and as such could play a strategic role in the transformation of higher education.The aim of this article is to illustrate that a key strategic objective of student affairs is to contributesignificantly towards student success. This article reports on a study (January, 2021) entitled ‘Towardsa qualitative framework for blending equity and excellence in transforming South African highereducation transformation to achieve development’ in which the promotion of student success isviewed as central to institutional transformation. The purpose of the study was to contribute to amore comprehensive qualitative framework for higher education transformation in South Africa byreconciling notions of ‘equity and excellence’. Interviews were conducted with sixteen leaders in thefield of higher education in South Africa. Thereafter, interview data were triangulated with strategicdocuments of various entities concerned with higher education transformation. The theoreticalframework encapsulated the human capital and human capability theories and argues further fora reconciliation of these theories to promote social justice and human well-being. The study usedgrounded theory methods to analyse and present the comprehensive qualitative framework. Thestudy found that student success was the most critical factor driving institutional transformation. Inaddition, four other interrelated elements were presented as the core elements of a comprehensiveframework. Based on these findings, this article explores the implications for student affairs further,using unpublished input gathered by the author through reflective conversations with stakeholdersat the University of Cape Town. In this regard the notion of a set of student learning imperatives(graduate attributes) becomes relevant to the discussion when student affairs practitioners andresearchers collaborate with faculties and departments on strategic projects.

Impact of Closure of South African Universities on Wellbeing of International Students During Covid-19 Pandemic

The surging coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has impacted all spheres of the economy not sparing higher education in South Africa. The impact was felt by both staff and students not only on teaching and learning but also on their socio-economic, health and physical well-being. This paper sought to explore the experiences international students during the closure of the universities in the country due to Covid-19 pandemic. This paper adopted the data from self-designed questionnaire administered to 68 international students from a public university in South Africa The quantitative data were analysed using the descriptive statistics. The results show that international students were more vulnerable and exposed to socio-economic and mental challenges including sense of low esteem, financial distress and emotional distress during the pandemic which impacted negatively on their academic outputs and social wellbeing, amongst other things. The findings also revealed that the university authorities did not take the necessary steps to address the life circumstances of the international students. The paper, therefore, highlights the holistic understanding of how to mitigate and alleviate the socio-economic impacts of such pandemic in future through opening dialogue, changing institutional policy to respond to emergency as at when it occurs, and the universities or higher institutions should put in place intervention strategies to assist foreign students during the outbreak of a disease.

Apartheid and mentoring: from silencing to re-centering previously marginalised voices in the chronicles of higher education mentoring

ABSTRACT The authors of this paper adopted a transformative framework in this article to examine how the legacy of apartheid continues to manifest within higher education in South Africa. In particular, the authors analyzed (a) how mainstream mentoring knowledge of ‘black’ and ‘marginalized’ people have influenced mentoring in post-apartheid South Africa; (b) varied ways in which mentoring initiatives and programs have been silenced and ignored previously marginalized voices through the application of apartheid mentoring knowledge, and (c) shared how the mentors/lecturers and students show and tell their stories about the demands of mentoring and the emphasis of contextual and responsive mentoring for the previously marginalized people in higher education in South Africa. The shortage of mentoring has been cited as a crucial reason for women’s lack of advancement in leadership. Implications for advancing transformation through mentoring in higher education in South Africa are also discussed.

The Cost of Equality: Analyzing the Unforeseen Financial Strains of Fee-Free Higher Education in South Africa

In the past, many South African students found it difficult to pursue higher education due to the high expense of tuition, which also restricted their prospects for development on both a personal and professional level. Fee-free education has helped to level the playing field and provide equal access to education, regardless of an individual’s financial background. Evidently, financially disadvantaged students now have better access to higher education, and this is attributed to fee-free education in South Africa. However, budgetary restrictions exist in South Africa, and the government’s finances are put under strain by the country’s policy of free public education for all pupils. The purpose of this article was to discuss unforeseen financial constraints in South African higher education due to fee-free education. In this article, a qualitative content analysis was employed which was grounded on analysing the existing scholarly literary writings. This paper established that enrolment rates in universities and colleges all around South Africa have increased significantly because of fee-free education. This research adds to the continuing discourse concerning the expenses tied to achieving equality and the unanticipated financial pressures stemming from tuition-free higher education in South Africa. Keywords: Fee-Free Higher Education, Government Finances, Access To Higher Education, Funding

Gendered 'leaky Pipelines' In Higher Education: Towards A Supervision Framework For Breaking Through The Glass Ceiling

Higher education in South Africa and internationally is characterised by structural and systemic gender disparities. This is shown in the ‘leaky pipeline’ in doctoral success and leadership roles, with females underrepresented in doctoral studies, doctoral graduation rates and senior positions. Studies in South Africa show that between 2013 and 2021, more doctorates were awarded to males than females and that there are more males in leadership positions in higher education. A counterargument often presented is that more women than men are graduating at the undergraduate level. This is a significant stride for women’s empowerment. This article argues that institutions’ structural gender disparities put women at a disadvantage and that current policies are not leading to equal proportions of men and women in leadership positions. The article considers the dominant Eurocentric and masculinist supervision model which perpetuates the ‘leaky pipeline’. Alongside empowerment theory, a feminist pedagogical perspective underpins the article which proposes a supervision framework that can address the present structural gender disparities and facilitate female doctoral success and access to leadership positions.

Teaching online amid the Covid‐19 pandemic: Exploring first‐time online lecturers' lived experiences

AbstractThe study explored the lived experiences of online teaching by first time online lecturers in institutions of higher education in South Africa during COVID‐19. The study adopted a qualitative approach. Findings show positive and negative experiences influenced by variables related to personality, technology, workload and physical teaching environment among others. Personality traits like fear of risks, attitudes to online teaching, emotional management skills serve to model experiences. Participants with negative attitude towards online teaching and low emotional intelligence generally had negative experiences of online teaching exacerbated by a lack of technical and psycho‐social support. Positive experiences were found to be a result of positive attitude towards change, positive emotional intelligence and access to different kinds of support. This group experienced high levels of job satisfaction and positive online teaching experiences. Understanding lecturers’ experiences is thus crucial in establishing best practices in online teaching which ensure job satisfaction and quality of teaching.

Gauging student readiness for university education: a transitional journey

Access to higher education in South Africa remains one of the principal components of the transformation agenda, driven by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). During apartheid, access to education was racialised. Despite the massive participation rates by previously marginalised groups in the post-apartheid dispensation, epistemological access remains worrisome. Transformation of the higher education system is a key dimension the democratic government has undertook to use to measure the progress of social transformation, as an enabler for student readiness and smooth transition to university education. In this study, we use distributive analysis in a random sample of 1,940 first time-entering students (FTENs) from diverse population groups and backgrounds to establish readiness and the existence of a coordinated transition from basic to higher education. To establish readiness the study assesses first-year students’ academic attitudes and needs, background, and motivational factors, as well as general well-being. To establish the existence of a planned and coordinated transition, a specific attention is paid to career guidance, qualification choice, as well as background and motivational factors. The findings show that despite the clear theoretical framework for a transformed higher education system, there is still no pronounced and planned coordination between basic and higher education. Secondly, the preuniversity socioeconomic conditions signal a long journey still needing to be travelled to achieve a transformed higher education. This is demonstrated by skills gap, lack of basic academic and motivational support, needed to build a global competitive and ready student.

Reflections on Decolonising of Medium of Instruction at South African Universities

The 2015/6 #Rhodes Must Fall student protest reignited the debate to decolonise higher education in South Africa and many parts of the world. One way of achieving this is through decolonising the language of teaching and learning in higher education to increase access. Within this caveat, we anticipate that this article will add a crucial contribution to contemporary international and local debates on decolonising the medium of instruction by providing evidence from South African institutions’ unique challenges and prospects associated with the quest to deliver quality decolonised education. While tremendous strides have been made in expressing the constitutional right of every learner to receive primary education in a language of their choice, at the university level, the development and implementation of inclusive language policies have been dismal at best. With the demise of the apartheid regime that significantly stifled African languages in South Africa, one could have hoped for changes in attitude and language usage in universities, mainly because universities still have discernible remnants of the apartheid legacy. This article highlights the urgent need for decolonising South African higher education, particularly concerning using English as the medium of instruction. We further hope that this study will benefit practitioners and stakeholders involved in formulating language policies at their respective learning institutions and prompt them to treat the decolonisation process with befitting urgency.

Perceptions of Chemical Engineering Students on Decolonizing the Curriculum by Incorporating Indigenous Knowledge Practices

The #FeesMustFall movement, which rocked institutions of higher learning in South Africa in 2015/2016, inspired robust engagement around the decolonization of knowledge. Students argued that the epistemological context of higher education in South Africa does not reflect the African context. Activists argued that if the curricula did not speak to local issues, the challenges facing higher education would remain. Incorporating indigenous knowledge practices into mainstream education could signify a shift away from Western dominance in the local episteme. Engineering is not immune to decolonization. This paper attempts to extract the views and observations of 38 chemical engineering students, from second year until PhD level, at the University of Johannesburg on decolonizing the curriculum by incorporating indigenous knowledge practices. The data was generated through an open-ended questionnaire. The questionnaire required that participants briefly describe indigenous practices with the potential for elucidating chemical engineering principles. Participants identified umfuso, which is the process of drying vegetables in the sun, sieving with leselo, which is made up of reeds and is used to separate light materials from heavy ones, drinking cow urine as a remedy to cure various diseases, making traditional mageu, brewing traditional beer (umqombothi) and milling and grinding maize meal, as practices which they believe had potential to reshape the curriculum. The findings of the study show that students concurred with the call for decolonization and transformation of the chemical engineering curriculum, but that there was a lack of consensus on whether incorporating indigenous knowledge practices could help achieve it, as the system of acquiring education itself needs decolonization.

An Analysis of the Contributions of Black Academics to Epistemology and Decolonisation in Higher Education in South Africa, 1940s-1990s

This paper looked at the contributions of black academics in the humanities and social sciences and uses their autobiographies as an analytical tool to help us understand their contribution to epistemology in the African higher education space. It also looks at debates on decolonisation and how their work has shaped these debates. Autobiography is one lens of doing critical analysis and understanding the progression of a scholar. This paper analyses different scholars in different generations and hopes to contribute to the search for genealogies of intergenerational Black South African scholars whose work has been forgotten and marginalised in the academic project in the humanities and social sciences curriculum in South Africa and beyond. Using autobiography as a critical method, the paper shows how black scholars from different generations navigated institutions of higher learning to achieve excellent results and produce knowledge that challenged racialised inferiority and white supremacy. The findings suggest that there is a body of work by black scholars and shows that where support is given, black scholars can shape discourse and take leadership positions in the academy.

CHALLENGES MITIGATING AGAINST EFFECTIVE ADOPTION AND USAGE OF E-LEARNING IN CURRICULUM DELIVERY IN SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES

The advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has brought about a significant transformation in the global education system. The incorporation and usage of diverse educational technologies facilitate the acquisition of knowledge in a tangible, effortless, and enjoyable manner, concurrently stimulating students' motivation to engage in the learning process. The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the realm of education. The objective of this study is to investigate the implementation of e-learning in the context of higher education in South Africa, with a focus on challenges against effective adoption and usage of e-Learning in curriculum delivery. The significance of e-learning in revolutionising pedagogy through the usage of diverse learning technologies and online platforms for instruction, learning, and evaluation is undeniable. However, several obstacles have impeded the efficient integration of ICT in South African Higher Education Institutions. The research employed a systematic literature review methodology, drawing from diverse sources. Diverse educational institutions have reportedly encountered distinct obstacles in their efforts to successfully incorporate information and communication technology (ICT) into their instructional methodologies. The challenges that impede the efficiency of learning technologies include insufficient ICT resources, inadequate ICT skills, and power outages, among others. Consequently, the research suggests implementing tactics to improve the usage of information and communication technology (ICT) for electronic learning (e-learning) in academic establishments, in order to tackle the obstacles.