Epistemic access and success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds at universities in South Africa
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—
framed within epistemic justice—requires 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: University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), University of Johannesburg (UJ),
University of Pretoria (UP), University of the Western Cape, University of Limpopo, and the Central University of Technology.
Two faculties—Humanities and Natural Science—form 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’s PPR. Data was sourced from the Higher Education Management Information System (HEMIS)
and programme information from the institutions.
Publications:
- Essop, A. (2021). Old Wine in New Bottles: Covid-19 and the “New Normal” in Higher Education, March 2021. SARChI T&L Research Paper Series.
- McDonald, Z., & Motala, S. (2022). Report on a quantitative review of access and success in higher education in South Africa. AMCHES/CHE Report.
- Motala, S., & McDonald, Z. (2022). Epistemic Access and Success of Historically Marginalised Students in South Africa: The ‘New Normal’: Quantitative Overview.
South African Education Research Association (SAERA) Conference, 26-28 October 2022.