Low-Income Students, Human Development and Higher Education in South Africa : Opportunities, Obstacles and Outcomes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Walker, Melanie.

Contributor:

McLean, Monica.

Mathebula, Mikateko.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Education, Higher--Economic aspects--South Africa.

Education, Higher.

Students--South Africa--Economic conditions.

Students.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (214 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : African Minds, 2022.

Summary:

"This book explores learning outcomes for low-income rural and township youth at five South African universities. The book is framed as a contribution to southern and Africa-centred scholarship, adapting Amartya Sen's capability approach and a framework of key concepts: capabilities, functionings, context, conversion factors, poverty and agency to investigate opportunities and obstacles to achieved student outcomes. This approach allows a reimagining of 'inclusive learning outcomes' to encompass the multi-dimensional value of a university education and a plurality of valued cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes for students from low-income backgrounds whose experiences are strongly shaped by hardship. Based on capability theorising and student voices, the book proposes for policy and practice a set of contextual higher education capability domains and corresponding functionings orientated to more justice and more equality for each person to have the opportunities to be and to do what they have reason to value. The book concludes that sufficient material resources are necessary to get into university and flourish while there; the benefits of a university education should be rich and multi-dimensional so that they can result in functionings in all areas of life as well as work and future study; the inequalities and exclusion of the labour market and pathways to further study must be addressed by wider economic and social policies for 'inclusive learning outcomes' to be meaningful; and that universities ought to be doing more to enable black working-class students to participate and succeed."-- Back cover

Contents:

Cover

Title page

Copyright page

Contents

About the authors

Acknowledgements

CHAPTER 1 - Raising 'learning outcomes' for inclusive higher education: The Miratho Project

Rationale for pursuing the human development capability approach (CA)

Methodology and methods of data generation

Note on data analysis

The longitudinal life-history interviews

Participatory research

Student survey

Ethical conduct of the research

Use of secondary datasets

Capability-based learning outcomes in the Miratho Matrix

Conclusion

CHAPTER 2 - Capabilities and functionings: Reconceptualising learning outcomes

Part 1: The capability approach, poverty and higher education

Poverty reduction and the capability approach

Higher education and the capability approach

Part 2: Problematising 'learning outcomes' for inclusive higher education

The politics of learning outcomes

Measurement challenges

Part 3: Learning outcomes as capability-based key functionings

Learning outcomes at the level of teaching sessions and modules

Learning outcomes at the level of programmes and institutions

CHAPTER 3 - A challenging context and intersectional conversion factors

Objective conversion factors: Society and economy

Objective conversion factors: University

Foregrounding poverty

Brief commentary on the hardship numbers

Poverty and well-being of university students

Subjective conversion factors emerging from life-history interviews

CHAPTER 4 - The Miratho Capabilitarian Matrix: Evaluating individual achievements and institutional arrangements

Step one: A principled method

Step two: Identifying capability domains and key functionings

Epistemic contribution domain

Ubuntu domain

Practical reason domain

Navigation domain

Narrative domain.

Emotional balance domain

Inclusion and participation domain

Future work or study

Step three: Miratho Matrix

CHAPTER 5 - Opportunities and obstacles in achieving higher education access

Material conversion factors: Money/funding

Educational conversion factors: Schooling

Environmental conversion factors: Geography and community

Geography

Community

Social conversion factors: Information and extended family and significant others

Information

Extended families and significant others

Personal conversion factors: Attitudes, values and characteristics

CHAPTER 6 - Possibilities for student transformation through capability-enhancing university participation

Part 1: Academic participation

Material conversion factors and students' engagement in processes of learning

Environmental conversion factors and students' experiences of university

Social conversion factors and students' experiences of being at university

Educational conversion factors

Part 2: Non-academic participation

Personal conversion factors and students' engagement in extra-curricular activities

Conclusion: Conversion factors for university participation

Summary of findings about capabilities for participation

CHAPTER 7 - Pathways for moving on from university

Part 1: Different pathways for moving on from university for Miratho students

Further study pathway

Employment pathway

No pathway: Studies completed but unemployed

Part 2: How conversion factors influenced moving-on pathways

Educational conversion factors and their effect on labour market opportunities

Material conversion factors and their influence on moving on

Social conversion factors and their effects on moving on

Environmental conversion factors and moving on

Personal conversion factors and students' moving on.

Conclusion

CHAPTER 8 - Five students' life histories: Conversion factors, functionings and inequality

Mashudu: Metro

Life before university

University access

University participation

Moving on from university

Sonto: City

Aphiwe: Provincial

Madoda: Rural

Rimisa: Country

What these five life histories tell us about low-income university students

CHAPTER 9 - Access, participation and moving on for low-income youth

Changing the informational basis for justice judgements

Practical operationalisation of ideas

Summary of findings

Challenges and change

Concluding thoughts

Appendix A. Conversion factor tables for Ntando

Appendix B. Ideas for the measurement of capability domains and functionings

References

Index

Back cover.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781928502401

1928502407

OCLC:

1337900935