The contours of disadvantage and academic progress : analysis of perceptions of students from disadvantaged schools at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
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Date
2013
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Abstract
The overall purpose of this study was to analyse the perceptions and experiences of students from
disadvantaged schools regarding their academic progress at the University of KwaZulu-Natal
(UKZN). The study focused on the students’ material and social circumstances, their learning
environment while at University, their connections to their home community, and their career
aspirations. It set to answer three key research questions, namely: (1) what are the contours of
disadvantage that can be discovered through investigating samples of students from disadvantaged
schools at UKZN? (2) How do the ‘contours’ seem to co-occur with factors relating to academic
progress? (3) What are the perceptions of students from disadvantaged schools at UKZN about their
pre-university experience and the learning environment at university? The notion of disadvantage was
defined using the Department of Education (DoE)’s classification of schools into the quintile system
which is based on measurements of the poverty of the catchment community. Thus, this study shows
that the notion of disadvantaged students in higher education can be investigated through class-based,
rather than merely racially-based definitions. This study was conducted within a three-fold conceptual
framework based on sustainable livelihoods approaches (SLA), social capital theory and social justice
ideology. The SLA approach teaches us that livelihoods can only be understood and captured in
particular contexts. This research project therefore aimed to gain a clearer understanding of such a
context, in this case, the campus environment. Through the phenomenological approach of the openended
questions in the interviews, this thesis taps into the perceptions of students themselves about
their environment and how they cope. Social capital theory postulates five spheres: the academic, the
social, the economic, the support, and the democratic. These were probed in both a survey of a sample
of disadvantaged students, and by interviewing eight students. With regard to academic progress, the
measurements used were the matric aggregate, the grade point average for salient years and
programmes, and the time it took for students to graduate or dropout. Comparisons are made between
the norm of students, the disadvantaged (those from low quintile schools), and those in the sample.
The purpose of utilizing such measurements is to contribute to the social justice discourse about
university education based on Taylor’s notion of Fair Equality of Opportunity (FEO), where
disadvantaged students’ abilities and aspirations can best be developed and exercised, leading to the
attainment of self-realization. Until disadvantaged students show academic progress that fits the norm,
the contours of their disadvantage need to be continually investigated; it is hoped that the findings of
this thesis will contribute to further research and concrete proposals which can be implemented to
improve conditions so that students who are already disadvantaged as a result of their schooling are
not further disadvantaged while at University .
Description
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.
Keywords
Discrimination in higher education--South Africa., Academic achievement--South Africa., Motivation in education--South Africa., College students--South Africa--Attitudes., College students--South Africa--Social conditions., Theses--Education.