Dr Beatrice Akala

Research Associate: SARChI Teaching and Learning
Name: Dr Beatrice Akala
Post-Doctoral Research Fellows Alumni  Staff Members

Contact Details:
Tel: +27 (0)11 559 7277

Email: akalabetty@gmail.com

About Dr Beatrice Akala

Dr Beatrice Akala holds a PhD, MEd, and BEd Hons from the University of the Witwatersrand, and a BEd from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. She is currently based at the University of the Witwatersrand in the Curriculum and Social Studies Division. Her previous academic affiliations include the University of Pretoria, where she lectured part-time, and the University of Johannesburg, where she served as a postdoctoral research fellow, part-time lecturer, and research associate under the SARChI Chair in Teaching and Learning. A multidisciplinary scholar with a strong focus on gender studies, Dr Akala’s research interests span social justice, gender, education research, and curriculum implementation policies. Her work integrates both conceptual and empirical approaches, contributing to critical conversations in education and equity.

ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9106-4461

Research Interests:

Key areas of expertise or inquiry, with relevant keywords. E.g.

• Gender and gendering in education, politics of identity, social justice
• Curriculum discourses, rurality and education outcomes

Selected Publications: 

Akala, B. M. M., & Sing, N. (2024). Equal Representation: Challenges and Opportunities. Gender Questions

Akala, B. M. M. (2024). Gender and the politics of equity: improving access and participation in South African education. In Research Handbook on the Sociology of Gender (pp. 422-435). Edward Elgar Publishing.

Akala, B. (2023). South Africa: tracing good and emerging practices on the right to higher education around the world; policy initiatives on the right to higher education in South Africa.

Projects:

• British Council Project: Higher education gender analysis: access to employability and entrepreneurship opportunities Sub-Saharan Africa: Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. britishcouncil.org
• Gender Project: Doctoral Journeys for Female Students-Gendered Perspectives, Towards a Research Project: Doctoral journeys of female students, challenges, resilience and success factors