Place, race and exclusion: university student voices in post-apartheid South Africa

Higham, Rob

doi:10.1080/13603116.2012.655498

Cited by 16 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Despite racial redress measures, students still experience informal racial segregation in historically white South African universities (Erasmus & De Wet, 2003;Higham, 2012;Koen & Durrheim, 2009;Schrieff, Tredoux, Finchilescu, & Dixon, 2010;Steyn & Van Zyl, 2001;Suransky & van der Merwe, 2014). This segregation has been linked to "race"-related discomfort (Erasmus & De Wet, 2003;Schrieff et al, 2010).…”

Section: Transformation As Policy or Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Linked to discomfort is inclusion, another transformation goal which appears inadequately addressed in practice. An investigation of students' experiences at historically racially segregated South African universities showed that while explicit instances of racism were controlled and universities appeared inclusive, a deeper form of inclusion had not been achieved (Higham, 2012). At the historically white University of Cape Town (UCT), black students felt marginalised by the dominance of whiteness, exemplified by the primarily white academic staff and the Eurocentric symbolism on campus (Erasmus & De Wet, 2003;Steyn & Van Zyl, 2001).…”

Section: Transformation As Policy or Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the historically white University of Cape Town (UCT), black students felt marginalised by the dominance of whiteness, exemplified by the primarily white academic staff and the Eurocentric symbolism on campus (Erasmus & De Wet, 2003;Steyn & Van Zyl, 2001). The dominance of white institutional culture and language and lack of acknowledgement of African scholarship are noted barriers to transformation (Bangeni & Kapp, 2005;Erasmus & De Wet, 2003;Higham, 2012;Soudien et al, 2008;Steyn & Van Zyl, 2001) and contradict the national policy goal of providing inclusive education which is both globally competitive and locally relevant (Department of Education, 1997). Growing dissatisfaction with transformation was demonstrated by Rhodes Must Fall (RMF), a collective of predominantly black UCT students and staff that successfully campaigned for the removal of a statue of British colonialist Cecil John Rhodes from UCT's campus, preceding ongoing protests aimed at the "decolonisation" (Rhodes Must Fall, 2015, para.…”

Section: Transformation As Policy or Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

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Whiteness and non-racialism: White students' discourses of transformation at UCT

Urson¹,

Kessi²

2018

PINS

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In post-apartheid South Africa, a gap exists between higher education transformation policies and practice. In this study, I investigated two related factors, namely the understanding and use of non-racialism and the roles of white students in racial transformation. This research was conducted within a framework provided by Critical Race Theory and whiteness studies, which views "race" as socially constructed but structurally salient in systems that privilege whiteness by rendering it invisible to white groups. This qualitative study aimed to investigate the ways in which white students talk about transformation and "race" at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and what role these discourses play in opposing or facilitating transformation. Four focus groups were conducted with 27 white UCT students from different programmes of study. Data analysis was guided by Willig's (2008) framework for Foucauldian Discourse Analysis. Three discursive sets of Rational Control, Defensive Rainbowism and Conscious Allyship were identified according to how broader discourses drawn on by participants in constructing "race" and transformation positioned white students differently in practice and subjectivity. The study indicated that there are differences in participants' willingness for transformation and their involvement therein that can be traced back to the ways in which they understand and experience aspects of life in post-apartheid South Africa. These findings contribute to critical whiteness literature by suggesting that white students' consciousness of white privilege is related to their acceptance of meaningful higher education transformation roles.

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Section: Transformation As Policy or Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Transformation As Policy or Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Transformation As Policy or Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

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Whiteness and non-racialism: White students' discourses of transformation at UCT

Urson¹,

Kessi²

2018

PINS

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“…Although there have been studies on some of these issues (e.g. see Higham, 2012;Kiguwa, 2014;Vincent, 2008;Woods, 2001), more research is needed giving voice to marginalised students, and making their experiences central to the transformation and decolonial debates. However, many studies that examine students' experiences in higher education relate to only one category of identity, usually race or gender.…”

Section: This View On the Insufficiency Of Demographics-focused Transmentioning

confidence: 99%

Race, gender and sexuality in student experiences of violence and resistances on a university campus

2016

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With the dismantling of apartheid in 1994, significant changes were made to higher education in South Africa. Access to higher education has expanded and student bodies are now more representative in terms of gender and race. However, demographic change alone is insufficient for higher education transformation. As in other parts of the world, within dominant educational discourses ideal students are still typically represented as white, middle-class, male, cisgender and heterosexual. Furthermore, students who occupy these categories tend to hold symbolic power within these institutions. Recently, student movements, starting with RhodesMustFall (RMF) at the University of Cape Town (UCT), have begun to challenge this and draw attention to these issues of transformation. This study was critically and empathically provoked by engagements around the RMF movement and aimed to examine students' experiences of transformation in higher education relating to race, gender and sexuality at UCT. Photovoice methods (involving focus groups, personal reflections, photographs and written stories) were used to explore two groups of students' experiences of non-direct, symbolic violence (i.e. issues of bathrooms, residences and campus art) and direct, physical violence on campus as well as these students' resistances and disruptions to the violence they encountered.

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“…Only the democratic changes in 1990s (related to the dismissal of apartheid policy) and the development of the democratic state in the first decades of the 20 th century would overcome the institutional process of racial divisions 51 . However, that does not mean, that the taint of ages of discrimination and more than forty years of apartheid was washed away.…”

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confidence: 99%

The development of South African higher education within the apartheid system (1948-1994) – selected aspects

Gmerek¹

2019

bhw

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The article include the consideration of development of South African Higher Education System in Apartheid Era (1948-1994). Particular emphasis was placed on reconstructing educational practices and policy that is implemented toward different racial groups in South Africa. An attempt was made at examining the relationship between schooling, segregation processes, discrimination practices and the development of higher education institutions.

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Place, race and exclusion: university student voices in post-apartheid South Africa

Cited by 16 publications

References 12 publications

Whiteness and non-racialism: White students' discourses of transformation at UCT

Whiteness and non-racialism: White students' discourses of transformation at UCT

Race, gender and sexuality in student experiences of violence and resistances on a university campus

The development of South African higher education within the apartheid system (1948-1994) – selected aspects

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