Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of some of the key themes pertaining to access programmes and revisits the difficulties encountered in trying to identify potential students for these initiatives. It also explores the notion of “epistemological access” in some detail, highlighting the importance of considering national and political context as well as institutional disposition towards academic development as factors impacting the success of access programmes. Indeed, it is emphasised that there is no “one-size-fits-all” for such programmes and a careful analysis of the educational environment at various levels will improve the chances of the development of a functional, holistic and successful programme. In this regard, education research and literature and the important insights gained through socio-cultural analyses are hugely valuable and of major importance in the struggle to transform tertiary education. Indeed, if access programmes are to be transformatory rather than serving to insulate the mainstream from change, understanding the workings of higher education and the operation of power within it are important tools in creating a more equitable and accessible tertiary education.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
See General College Vision: Integrating Intellectual Growth, Multicultural Perspectives, and Student Development, Jeanne L. Higbee, Dana B. Lundell and David R. Arendale (2006) for a distillation of the practices of the General College.
- 2.
“Black” in this sense includes all the groups designated “non-white” during the apartheid era, i.e. black Africans, “coloureds” and Indians.
References
Boughey, C. (2002). ‘Naming’ students problems: An analysis of language-related discourses at a South African University. Teaching in Higher Education, 7(3), 295–307.
Bourdieu, P. (1988). Homo Academicus (P. Collier, Trans., French Edition: 1984, Stanford University Press ed.). Cambridge: Polity Press.
Bourdieu, P., & Wacquant, L. (1992). An invitation to reflexive sociology. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Clegg, S. (2008). Think-piece, professional/academic development: Forms of knowing and academic development practice. Paper presented at the Higher Education Close Up 4. South Africa: University of Cape Town
Gee, J. (1990). Social linguistics and literacies: Ideology in discourses. London: Falmer Press.
Haggis, T. (2006). Pedagogies for diversity: Retaining critical challenge amidst fears of dumbing down. Studies in Higher Education, 31(5), 521–535.
Jansen, J. D. (2001). Schools and society: Access and values in education. Indicator South Africa. Retrieved February 25, 2009, from http://www.nu.ac.za/indicator/Vol18No3/18.3_feature.htm
Kloot, B. (2009). Exploring the value of Bourdieu’s framework in the context of institutional change. Studies in Higher Education, 34(4), 469–481.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Marginson, S. (2008). Global field and global imagining: Bourdieu and worldwide higher education. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 29(3), 303–315.
Mehl, M. (1988). Academic support: Developmental giant or academic pauper. South African Journal of Higher Education, 2(1), 17–20.
Naidoo, R. (2004). Fields and institutional strategy: Bourdieu on the relationship between higher education, inequality and society. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 25(4), 457–471.
Osborne, M. (2003). Increasing or widening participation in higher education? – A European overview. European Journal of Education, 38(5), 5–24.
Richardson, R. C. (2000). The role of the state and institutional policies and practices. In G. Campbell, R. Denes, & C. Morrison (Eds.), Access denied: Race, ethnicity, and the scientific enterprise. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rollnick, M., Manyatsi, S., Lubben, F., & Bradley, J. (1998). A model for studying gaps in education: A Swaziland case study in the learning of science. International Journal of Educational Development, 18(6), 453–465.
Zaaiman, H. (1998). Selecting students for mathematics and science: The challenge facing higher education in South Africa. Pretoria: HSRC Publishers.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kloot, B. (2010). Conclusion. In: Identifying Potential for Equitable Access to Tertiary Level Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3224-9_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3224-9_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-3223-2
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-3224-9
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)