The recurrence of xenophobic violence in South Africa has been attributed to the proliferation of antimigrant sentiments that stems from social, political, economic and cultural misconceptions and cleavages. The study presents the results of a survey undertaken at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) to investigate the perceptions and attitudes of DUT students on xenophobia in South Africa. A questionnaire was designed and employed to collect data from 547 registered students of a university in Durban. The result reflects the existence of satisfactory awareness on xenophobia and low levels of anti-migrant sentiments which show that the majority of the students are not xenophobic. Traces of xenophobic perceptions and attitudes were observed in the responses of entry-level students from low-income areas, thus pointing to entry-level students and younger students as being more disposed to xenophobic tendencies. This trend echoes normative conceptions concerning xenophobia in South Africa, particularly, as a phenomenon deeply ingrained in socio-economic inadequacies. However, the positive disposition of most students towards xenophobia reaffirms the importance of educational institutions in intercepting negative ethnic/racial sentiments as well as calls for intensified integration programmes and the extension of such into the communities.
{"title":"Students’ Attitudes and Perceptions on Xenophobia: A Study of a University in Durban","authors":"O. Akande, Hilary Jephat Musarurwa, S. Kaye","doi":"10.24085/JSAA.V6I2.3307","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24085/JSAA.V6I2.3307","url":null,"abstract":"The recurrence of xenophobic violence in South Africa has been attributed to the proliferation of antimigrant sentiments that stems from social, political, economic and cultural misconceptions and cleavages. The study presents the results of a survey undertaken at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) to investigate the perceptions and attitudes of DUT students on xenophobia in South Africa. A questionnaire was designed and employed to collect data from 547 registered students of a university in Durban. The result reflects the existence of satisfactory awareness on xenophobia and low levels of anti-migrant sentiments which show that the majority of the students are not xenophobic. Traces of xenophobic perceptions and attitudes were observed in the responses of entry-level students from low-income areas, thus pointing to entry-level students and younger students as being more disposed to xenophobic tendencies. This trend echoes normative conceptions concerning xenophobia in South Africa, particularly, as a phenomenon deeply ingrained in socio-economic inadequacies. However, the positive disposition of most students towards xenophobia reaffirms the importance of educational institutions in intercepting negative ethnic/racial sentiments as well as calls for intensified integration programmes and the extension of such into the communities.","PeriodicalId":32008,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Student Affairs in Africa","volume":"53 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74665960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mental health is currently in the national and international and African spotlight (Jacaranda, 2018; Mabasa, 2018). Recently, the South African higher education mourned losses at Wits University, Stellenbosch University, as well as other institutions of higher learning (Mabasa, 2018). The U.K. media featured an article in The Guardian, quoting the U.K. minister of higher education as saying that higher education institutions risk “failing an entire generation of students” (Adams, 2018). This article takes position on the emerging discourse around mental health in higher education. It discusses the extent of the problem and reveals the challenges in our understanding in terms of the absolute measures and highlights that particularly female students are at risk (Lochner et al., 2018). This article emphasises that constructions of students as active partners in higher education opens the opportunity to enlist students as active partners in creating conditions conducive to health and healthy choices that promote mental health.
{"title":"Mental Health at Universities: Universities are Not In Loco Parentis – Students are Active Partners in Mental Health","authors":"Birgit Schreiber","doi":"10.24085/JSAA.V6I2.3318","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24085/JSAA.V6I2.3318","url":null,"abstract":"Mental health is currently in the national and international and African spotlight (Jacaranda, 2018; Mabasa, 2018). Recently, the South African higher education mourned losses at Wits University, Stellenbosch University, as well as other institutions of higher learning (Mabasa, 2018). The U.K. media featured an article in The Guardian, quoting the U.K. minister of higher education as saying that higher education institutions risk “failing an entire generation of students” (Adams, 2018). This article takes position on the emerging discourse around mental health in higher education. It discusses the extent of the problem and reveals the challenges in our understanding in terms of the absolute measures and highlights that particularly female students are at risk (Lochner et al., 2018). This article emphasises that constructions of students as active partners in higher education opens the opportunity to enlist students as active partners in creating conditions conducive to health and healthy choices that promote mental health.","PeriodicalId":32008,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Student Affairs in Africa","volume":"49 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90998683","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Book Title: Going to University: The Influence of Higher Education on the Lives of Young South Africans Book Authors: Case, J.M., Marshall, D., McKenna, S. & Mogashana, D. (2017) Cape Town: African Minds.
{"title":"Book Review: Going to University: The Influence of Higher Education on the Lives of Young South Africans","authors":"Birgit Schreiber, T. Luescher, Teboho Moja","doi":"10.4314/jssa.v6i1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/jssa.v6i1","url":null,"abstract":"Book Title: Going to University: The Influence of Higher Education on the Lives of Young South Africans Book Authors: Case, J.M., Marshall, D., McKenna, S. & Mogashana, D. (2017) Cape Town: African Minds.","PeriodicalId":32008,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Student Affairs in Africa","volume":"55 1","pages":"107-112"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76910839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Most first-year university students experience serious academic and adjustment challenges, which remain undetected until it is too late to provide meaningful intervention. Universities are therefore developing academic support systems that can assist in identifying students who experience learning challenges early on, and provide quality first-year experiences that ensure that first-year students adapt, engage and succeed at the university. Such student academic support systems should provide resources that detect risk factors as early as possible. This study explores the support provided by the Retention Officers (ROs) in assisting first-year students to overcome disengagement issues at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town, South Africa. Modelled on Tronto’s (2010) Theory of Ethics of Care, the design of the First Year Experience project is underpinned by the value of inclusion and care for first-year students in higher education. This practitioner-based paper draws on the experiences of ROs in monitoring first-year students’ disengagement in a science faculty at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Data extracted through interviews and written reports by ROs formed the basis for a qualitative interpretation of ROs’ experiences dealing with first-year students’ disengagement. This paper therefore highlights the importance of mediating between discipline-based support and generic psycho-social support through the involvement of ROs to enhance student engagement.
大多数大学一年级的学生都经历了严重的学业和适应挑战，这些挑战一直没有被发现，直到提供有意义的干预为时已晚。因此，大学正在开发学术支持系统，以帮助识别早期遇到学习挑战的学生，并提供高质量的第一年体验，确保一年级学生适应、参与并在大学取得成功。这样的学生学术支持系统应该提供资源，尽早发现风险因素。本研究探讨了在南非开普敦的开普半岛理工大学，留校官(ROs)在帮助一年级学生克服脱离接触问题方面所提供的支持。以Tronto(2010)的关怀伦理理论为模型，第一年体验项目的设计以高等教育中一年级学生的包容和关怀的价值为基础。这篇以实践者为基础的论文借鉴了在开普半岛理工大学(Cape Peninsula University of Technology)的一个科学学院中，注册主任在监测一年级学生脱离工作的经验。通过访谈和ro的书面报告提取的数据构成了ro处理一年级学生脱离的经验的定性解释的基础。因此，本文强调了学科支持和一般的社会心理支持之间的中介作用的重要性，通过组织成员的参与来提高学生的参与度。
{"title":"Monitoring Student (Dis)engagement: Retention Officers’ Experiences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology","authors":"Nosisana Mkonto","doi":"10.24085/JSAA.V6I1.3066","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24085/JSAA.V6I1.3066","url":null,"abstract":"Most first-year university students experience serious academic and adjustment challenges, which remain undetected until it is too late to provide meaningful intervention. Universities are therefore developing academic support systems that can assist in identifying students who experience learning challenges early on, and provide quality first-year experiences that ensure that first-year students adapt, engage and succeed at the university. Such student academic support systems should provide resources that detect risk factors as early as possible. This study explores the support provided by the Retention Officers (ROs) in assisting first-year students to overcome disengagement issues at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town, South Africa. Modelled on Tronto’s (2010) Theory of Ethics of Care, the design of the First Year Experience project is underpinned by the value of inclusion and care for first-year students in higher education. This practitioner-based paper draws on the experiences of ROs in monitoring first-year students’ disengagement in a science faculty at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Data extracted through interviews and written reports by ROs formed the basis for a qualitative interpretation of ROs’ experiences dealing with first-year students’ disengagement. This paper therefore highlights the importance of mediating between discipline-based support and generic psycho-social support through the involvement of ROs to enhance student engagement.","PeriodicalId":32008,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Student Affairs in Africa","volume":"318 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82913623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this book, Macfarlane engages with the notion of students’ freedom to learn which he defines as personal freedom to live the way they want to live their lives, political freedom in that students contribute to decision-making processes without domesticating their voice, and the right to learn as they decide what to learn, when to learn and how. He argues, as adult learners, students should have autonomy over choices and decisions such as these. He views this autonomy as crucial to providing students an opportunity to better understand their world and control what they want to do with their lives. Macfarlane argues, “if students are to be able to develop their own capabilities as independent learners and thinkers, they need to be provided with the choices, opportunities, encouragement and conducive environment in which to do so” (p. 26). He bemoans that university practices aimed at supporting student engagement, though well intentioned, ultimately fail to support an environment where students are trusted as adults responsible for making decisions on what they want to do. In his view, university policies and practices fail to acknowledge students’ individual differences and preferences, consequently alienating them in the process.
{"title":"Macfarlane, B. (2017). Freedom to Learn: The Treat to Student Academic Freedom and Why it Needs to be Reclaimed. London: Routledge","authors":"R. Nsibande","doi":"10.24085/JSAA.V6I1.3072","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24085/JSAA.V6I1.3072","url":null,"abstract":"In this book, Macfarlane engages with the notion of students’ freedom to learn which he defines as personal freedom to live the way they want to live their lives, political freedom in that students contribute to decision-making processes without domesticating their voice, and the right to learn as they decide what to learn, when to learn and how. He argues, as adult learners, students should have autonomy over choices and decisions such as these. He views this autonomy as crucial to providing students an opportunity to better understand their world and control what they want to do with their lives. Macfarlane argues, “if students are to be able to develop their own capabilities as independent learners and thinkers, they need to be provided with the choices, opportunities, encouragement and conducive environment in which to do so” (p. 26). He bemoans that university practices aimed at supporting student engagement, though well intentioned, ultimately fail to support an environment where students are trusted as adults responsible for making decisions on what they want to do. In his view, university policies and practices fail to acknowledge students’ individual differences and preferences, consequently alienating them in the process.","PeriodicalId":32008,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Student Affairs in Africa","volume":"45 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85950339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Mismatch between First-Year Students’ Expectations and Experience alongside University Access and Success: A South African University Case Study","authors":"Pather Subethra, D. Nirmala","doi":"10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3065","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":32008,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Student Affairs in Africa","volume":"92 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79011473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Amongst the first of the challenges facing prospective first-year university students is the need to procure funding for their studies. Indeed, demand for funding for students to access higher education far exceeds supply in South Africa. One solution has been the creation of a government loan scheme, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), but this scheme does not cover all students. Outside of NSFAS, student bursary funding remains limited and universities are being increasingly pressurised to allocate bursaries to ensure students are not excluded due to funding constraints. Despite this, to date, little work has been undertaken regarding university policy and management of bursary applications and funds. Thus this study represents an attempt to fill this gap. The study explores the current student funding model deployed at one particular large tertiary institution as a means to gain an understanding of current funding challenges and attempt to find ways in which funding decisions can be improved. A qualitative approach was used, which involved conducting in-depth interviews with senior university staff involved in a range of student support directorates. The study demonstrates the complexity of the challenges associated with student funding.
{"title":"Exploring the Challenges of First-Year Student Funding: An Intra-Institutional Case Study","authors":"T. McKay, A. Naidoo, Z. Simpson","doi":"10.24085/JSAA.V6I1.3063","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24085/JSAA.V6I1.3063","url":null,"abstract":"Amongst the first of the challenges facing prospective first-year university students is the need to procure funding for their studies. Indeed, demand for funding for students to access higher education far exceeds supply in South Africa. One solution has been the creation of a government loan scheme, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), but this scheme does not cover all students. Outside of NSFAS, student bursary funding remains limited and universities are being increasingly pressurised to allocate bursaries to ensure students are not excluded due to funding constraints. Despite this, to date, little work has been undertaken regarding university policy and management of bursary applications and funds. Thus this study represents an attempt to fill this gap. The study explores the current student funding model deployed at one particular large tertiary institution as a means to gain an understanding of current funding challenges and attempt to find ways in which funding decisions can be improved. A qualitative approach was used, which involved conducting in-depth interviews with senior university staff involved in a range of student support directorates. The study demonstrates the complexity of the challenges associated with student funding.","PeriodicalId":32008,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Student Affairs in Africa","volume":"85 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81227298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Negotiating Learning and Identity in Higher Education: Access, Persistence and Retention is the first in a Bloomsbury series, entitled “Understanding Student Experiences in Higher Education”. It consists of nine chapters, all of which report on research that was conducted using qualitative, longitudinal data at the University of Cape Town (UCT) – an elite, English-medium, and historically white South African University. The participants in the research are all part of a generation of young black people who have grown up in the new South Africa and are mostly first generation, working class and from single-parent families. In addition to this, they are all bilingual or multilingual and English is generally used as a second or third language.
{"title":"Bangeni, B. & Kapp, R. (Eds.). (2017). Negotiating Learning and Identity in Higher Education: Access, Persistence and Retention. London: Bloomsbury","authors":"Taryn Bernard","doi":"10.24085/JSAA.V6I1.3074","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24085/JSAA.V6I1.3074","url":null,"abstract":"Negotiating Learning and Identity in Higher Education: Access, Persistence and Retention is the first in a Bloomsbury series, entitled “Understanding Student Experiences in Higher Education”. It consists of nine chapters, all of which report on research that was conducted using qualitative, longitudinal data at the University of Cape Town (UCT) – an elite, English-medium, and historically white South African University. The participants in the research are all part of a generation of young black people who have grown up in the new South Africa and are mostly first generation, working class and from single-parent families. In addition to this, they are all bilingual or multilingual and English is generally used as a second or third language.","PeriodicalId":32008,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Student Affairs in Africa","volume":"87 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83559129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Higher education in South Africa is in a state of turmoil. Student protests, increased state intervention, uncertainty and surprises around government funding of the sector amidst increased massification of universities, pressure on institutions to insource staff, calls to diversify both student and staff bodies, demands for decolonisation of university curricula (or Africanisation, as Msila and Gumbo (2016) choose to position these debates), and substantive changes in national policy directives have created a sector in constant flux. It is thus no surprise that a variety of authoritative authors within the South African higher education context have taken a rather dim view of the current situation. While Adam Habib (2016) focuses on re-imagining the future of the South African university, he acknowledges the stark current reality that the South African university system is not on par with its counterparts in other developing countries and that it shows limited transformation after more than two decades of democracy in South Africa. Cloete (2016a) similarly points to inefficiencies within the system (particularly at the undergraduate level) that are amplified by under-funding of the system as a whole.
{"title":"Case, J.M., Marshall, D., McKenna, S. & Mogashana, D. (2018). Going to University: The Influence of Higher Education on the Lives of Young South Africans. Cape Town: African Minds","authors":"L. Frick","doi":"10.24085/JSAA.V6I1.3071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24085/JSAA.V6I1.3071","url":null,"abstract":"Higher education in South Africa is in a state of turmoil. Student protests, increased state intervention, uncertainty and surprises around government funding of the sector amidst increased massification of universities, pressure on institutions to insource staff, calls to diversify both student and staff bodies, demands for decolonisation of university curricula (or Africanisation, as Msila and Gumbo (2016) choose to position these debates), and substantive changes in national policy directives have created a sector in constant flux. It is thus no surprise that a variety of authoritative authors within the South African higher education context have taken a rather dim view of the current situation. While Adam Habib (2016) focuses on re-imagining the future of the South African university, he acknowledges the stark current reality that the South African university system is not on par with its counterparts in other developing countries and that it shows limited transformation after more than two decades of democracy in South Africa. Cloete (2016a) similarly points to inefficiencies within the system (particularly at the undergraduate level) that are amplified by under-funding of the system as a whole.","PeriodicalId":32008,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Student Affairs in Africa","volume":"78 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83742841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Student Academic Monitoring and Support in Higher Education: A Systems Thinking Perspective","authors":"P. Vino, Dhunpath Rubby","doi":"10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24085/jsaa.v6i1.3064","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":32008,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Student Affairs in Africa","volume":"80 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75158433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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