The Transition to Equity in South African Higher Education: Governance, Fairness, and Trust in Everyday Academic Practice

Abstract

In South Africa, 15 years into a new political order, higher education institutions are under pressure to create and sustain the conditions necessary for the consolidation of democracy. One of the more important of these conditions is the need to shift their academic staff profiles in ways that are more representative of a diverse democracy. This process is mediated by legislative and policy reforms that have as their aims the establishment of a more diverse community of academics (see, inter alia: White Paper, 1997; Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998; National Plan for Higher Education, 2001). While much current thinking is at the macro-level and focused on narrow human resource aspects related to "getting the numbers right," there is limited research on what happens in the daily experiences of faculty. This article draws on a research project conducted at five universities in South Africa in order to explore how academics in their everyday micropractices of governance, teaching, and research respond to this external systemic pressure. The findings are considered in terms of their implications for the democratization process, in relation to issues of governance, fairness, and trust, at the levels both of institutions and of society as a whole.

Subjective experiences of employment equity in South African organisations

“…This study supports the previous findings of Zulu and Parumasur (2009) and highlights the fact that, in senior management transformation, processes seem to be rather slow. Furthermore, employees do not believe that their companies have done enough to employ and promote previously disadvantaged groups as envisaged in labour legislation (Thaver, 2010).…”

Pushing a stone up a hill: A case study of the working environment of South African academics

“…In the changing academic workplace in South Africa, academic staff have expressed apprehension about working with an increasingly diverse set of students, particularly individuals with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds (Austin, 1999). Moreover, Thaver (2010) found workload to be racially slanted, and Black academics are often expected to serve as role models and work closely with Black students, resulting in significant time commitment (Potgieter, 2002).…”

“…Prior studies have investigated specific aspects of the HEI working environment, such as race and/or gender (e.g. Daniels, 2001; Mabokela and Mawila, 2004; Perumal, 2003; Potgieter, 2002; Thaver, 2010). This study sought to explore all aspects of the working environment that were meaningful to the academic staff participants rather than shaping the research with a predetermined focus.…”

“…Indeed, Johnson (2006) found that academic staff members are concerned about the 'us versus them' mentality that pervades in this new, more hierarchical environment. In addition, research has become increasingly central, prompting Thaver (2010) to note that collegiality is under duress because subsidy formulas are now tied with research productivity, leading to competition between academics on the micro level.…”