Identities in Transition: Shifting Conceptions of Home among “Black” South African University Students

2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bongi Bangeni ◽  
Rochelle Kapp
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
South African ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
University Of Cape Town ◽  
The University

Abstract:This paper is drawn from a longitudinal case study in which we are tracking the progress of twenty students as they pursue their undergraduate degrees at the University of Cape Town. In this paper we trace two first-generation university students' changing constructions of who they are and the concomitant changes in their relationship to home and university over the course of three years. We describe their struggles to present coherent “home” identities and the ways in which these identities are challenged by both the dominant discourses of the institution and by rejection by their home communities. The research questions conventional notions that students from marginalized communities are either alienated from, or uncritically assimilated into, dominant institutional discourses.

scholarly journals Informing South African Students About Information Systems

10.28945/2499 ◽  
2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Hart
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
University Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Education System ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
African Students ◽  
University Of Cape Town ◽  
The University

At the University of Cape Town, females and students disadvantaged under the previous South African apartheid education system are under-represented in Information Systems (I.S.) classes. This research shows that these are also the groups most ignorant about I.S. at the school-leaving stage. After being informed about the discipline through a small intervention, a significant increase in enthusiasm for majoring in and being employed in I.S. occurred. This should result in a better educational fit and greater enrolment of these groups in I.S., and reduce some switching to I.S. from other subjects at a later stage. The key influencing sources for university students’ study decisions are also examined, and it is evident that a different approach is needed for each group in order to maximize the number of quality I.S. graduates.

scholarly journals Transgressive Partnerships: Community engagement in a South African university

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Hall
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
South African ◽  
Economic Justice ◽  
Learning Problem ◽  
Research Systems ◽  
University Of Cape Town ◽  
The University ◽  
Forms Of Knowledge

Conceptualizing community engagement as intertwined with teaching and long-established approaches to research requires a consideration of the epistemology of knowledge itself. What is accepted as legitimate knowledge? And what is the scope of the university’s role in recognizing and validating forms of knowledge and defining curriculum boundaries, understood as the ways in which the university disseminates knowledge that it has validated as authentic? A working understanding of community engagement would include service learning, problem-based teaching and research that addresses specific wants and needs, the pursuit of alternative forms of knowledge and challenges to established authorities that control and direct research systems and the allocation of qualifications. This article considers why this kind of engagement has remained on the margins of the traditional university in South Africa – via a case study of community engagement at the University of Cape Town – despite a decade of clear public policy and asks: why does there appear to be resistance to its inclusion despite a number of incentives that include moral affirmation for contributing to social and economic justice.

FACTOR STRUCTURE OF CONDOM ATTITUDES AMONG BLACK SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvester N. Madu ◽  
Karl Peltzer
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Preventive Measure ◽  
Black South African ◽  
The North ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
Condom Attitudes ◽  
The University

The factor structure of condom attitudes among black South African university students was investigated amongst 1203 undergraduate students – ranging in age from 16 to 45 years – at the University of the North, South Africa, using a 25-item anonymous self-rating questionnaire constructed by the authors to tap students' opinions and complaints about using con- doms as a preventive measure against HIV/AIDS. Factor analysis reduced the items to five factors with five items each. Each of the factors correlated highly with the total scale and moderately or poorly with each other. Results indicate that the study is useful as a baseline and for providing information for further investigation into related topics amongst black South African university students.

scholarly journals Actors’ reflexivity and engagement in the formation of new accounting tools during university hybridization

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgenii Aleksandrov
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Institutional Work ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Documentary Analysis ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The University ◽  
Academic Demands

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the unfolding dynamics and evolving processes relating to the formation of accounting tools by university actors. It answers the research questions: How do individual actors engage in the formation of new accounting tools during university hybridisation? Specifically, what forms of reflexivity do these actors display in various phases of university hybridisation? Design/methodology/approach This is a longitudinal case study of the development of new accounting tools in one Russian technical university from 2010 to 2016. It is based on an institutional work perspective, involving 29 interviews, documentary analysis, and observations of internal meetings relating to new accounting tools’ formation. Findings The findings show that academics themselves were gradually engaged in the marginalisation of academic demands in university governance in favour of managerialism via accounting. Nevertheless, the role of accounting morphed over time from a dysfunctional and negative carrier of managerial ideology and its domination, to what could arguably be considered a mediation device between academic and managerial demands. These dynamic processes and the role of accounting within them are explained by the constant challenge stemming from the involvement of several groups of actors in institutional work, which is often unpredictable and fluid due to the intricate play of plural reflexivities and actors’ identities during university hybridisation. Originality/value This paper advances the field by showing that the engagement and reflexivity of academics in the formation of accounting tools is not a “panacea” to deal with hybridisation within universities. The results highlight several obstacles, including variation in the reflexive capacities of actors within the university, leading to a reflexivity lag and reflexivity trap.

Can we look past people’s race? The effect of combining race and a non-racial group affiliation on holistic processing

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 557-569
Author(s):  
Ayesha K Sadozai ◽  
Kate Kempen ◽  
Colin Tredoux ◽  
Rachel A Robbins
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Holistic Processing ◽  
Group Affiliation ◽  
Racial Category ◽  
White American ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Race Effect ◽  
University Of Cape Town ◽  
The University

Face memory is worse for races other than one’s own, in part because other-race faces are less holistically processed. Both experiential factors and social factors have been suggested as reasons for this other-race effect. Direct measures of holistic processing for race and a non-racial category in faces have never been employed, making it difficult to establish how experience and group membership interact. This study is the first to directly explore holistic processing of own-race and other-race faces, also classed by a non-racial category (university affiliation). Using a crossover design, White undergraduates (in Australia) completed the part-whole task for White (American) and Black South African faces attributed to the University of Western Sydney (own) and University of Sydney (other). Black South African undergraduates completed the same task for White and Black South African faces attributed to the University of Cape Town (own) and Stellenbosch University (other). It was hypothesised that own-race faces would be processed more holistically than other-race faces and that own-university faces would be processed more holistically than other-university faces. Results showed a significant effect of race for White participants (White faces were matched more accurately than Black faces), and wholes were matched more accurately than parts, suggesting holistic processing, but only for White faces. No effect of university was found. Black South African participants, who have more experience with other-race faces, processed wholes better than parts irrespective of race and university category. Overall, results suggest that experiential factors of race outweigh any effects of a non-racial shared group membership. The quality of experience for the named populations, stimuli presentation, and degree of individuation are discussed.

The Socio-Economic Challenges of South African Indigenous Musicians: A Case Study of Venda-Based Vho-Ntshengedzeni Mamphodo

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
N G Mugovhani ◽  
Lebogang Lance Nawa
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Arts Management ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Indigenous Music ◽  
Entire Country

This article discusses and raises awareness about the socio-economic plight of indigenous musicians in South Africa. Through a qualitative case study of the Venda musician, Vho-Talelani Andries Ntshengedzeni Mamphodo, dubbed the “Father of mbila music,” the article highlights the fact that the welfare of Black South African artists, particularly indigenous musicians in South Africa, is generally a precarious affair. Their popularity, at the height of their careers, sometimes masks shocking details of exploitation, neglect, and the poverty they are subjected to, which are exposed only after they have died. Empirical data identifies this as a symptom of, among other things, cultural policy and arts management deficiencies in the promotion of indigenous music. The article aims to find ways to redress this unfortunate situation, which is partially a product of general apathy and scant regard that these artists have perennially been subjected to, even by their own governments, as well as some members of their societies. All these factors mentioned are compounded by ignorance on the part of South African artists. Part of the objective of this study was to establish whether the exposition of the Vhavenda musicians is a typical example of all Black South African indigenous musicians and, if this is the case, whether the suggested ways to redress this unfortunate situation could contribute to or play a role in alleviating the plight of such artists in the entire country.

Recontextualising the teaching of commercial transactions law for an African university

Acta Juridica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 275-296
Author(s):  
A Hutchison
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
First Century ◽  
Student Life ◽  
South African Council ◽  
Protest Movements ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
University Of Cape Town ◽  
The University ◽  
South African Higher Education

This article reflects on the changing political environment in South African higher education and offers one potential view of the future of contract law teaching in the twenty-first century. Specifically, the author discusses changes made to the final-level LLB course, Commercial Transactions Law, at the University of Cape Town. These changes were inspired by the #MustFall protest movements and also incorporated the requirements of the South African Council on Higher Education’s 2018 report on the LLB degree. In essence, this involved a recontextualisation of the component topics to speak to a broader range of student life experiences, as well as an attempt to incorporate more materials focused on social justice or which are characteristically ‘African’.

The Many Racial Effigies of Sara Baartman

2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kellen Hoxworth
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Racial Oppression ◽  
Black Paint ◽  
African Students ◽  
The Many ◽  
University Of Cape Town ◽  
The University

Six African students enact a somber, silent dance. They stage a series of striking images at the base of South African artist Willie Bester's sculptureSara Baartman, in the Chancellor Oppenheimer Library at the University of Cape Town (UCT). Their faces and bodies smeared with black paint, the students articulate their protest ofSara Baartmanin explicitly racial terms, aligning their critiques of economic, colonial, and racial oppression under the sign of blackness.

scholarly journals The knowledge and perceptions of history students of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Oelofse ◽  
A Oosthuysen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
The University

Using the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa (TRC) and the concept of reconciliation as a case study, the article attempts to assess the knowledge and understanding of the registered undergraduate history students at the University of the Free State’s main campus about the TRC and the concept and process of reconciliation in the country at large. The research will firstly assess whether the younger generation of students, specifically students taking history as a subject, have any knowledge of such a significant and contemporary event in South African historiography as the TRC process. Secondly, in relation to the aims and recommendations of the TRC and against the background of reconciliation efforts in the country, to perceive the views and thoughts of undergraduate history students on the progress in reconciliation endeavours in South Africa. As a result, a sample of 128 undergraduate history students was randomly selected to complete a quantitative questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of both closed and open-ended questions. Group interviews, as a qualitative research method, were added and used to conduct interviews with 16 undergraduate history students selected randomly and answers were recorded. Accordingly, an explanatory mixed- method research method approach was employed by implementing both the qualitative and quantitative method.

scholarly journals Psychometric properties of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale amongst black South African university students

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malose Makhubela ◽  
Solomon Mashegoane
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Discriminant Validity ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Infection Rates ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Acceptable Internal Consistency

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread widely leading to a global public health crisis of a pandemic proportion. Whilst infection rates tend to fluctuate in South Africa, COVID-19 remains a life-threatening disease with the capacity to wreak fear and concern. The present study evaluated the psychometric qualities of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) amongst black South African university students (N = 433; Female: 58%; Mage = 23.51 [SD = 4.18]). The FCV-19S demonstrated a unidimensional factor structure and acceptable internal consistency (α = 0.87), Omega (ω = 0.88) and the greatest lower bound (GLB = 0.90) reliabilities. In addition, discriminant validity was demonstrated when FCV-19S items loaded separately from ordinary fear. The FCV-19S can be used as a measure of COVID-19-related fear amongst black South African university students.

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